The Abyssal Scrolls
by Stewaycol
Summary: UPDATE: 4/22 - Sorry for the delay, I'll make it up to you - The companions make their way back to town and attempt to gain audience with Lady Kara. While they wait, they spend time at Jackie's tavern, where they first met, and run into complications.
1. Chapter 1

The Abyssal Scrolls

Chapter 1

It was evening in Bloody Jackie's tavern, and an average one at that. The usual clientele was in full force, ordering drink after drink and causing an acceptable amount of bar fights. As long as they were buying more than they were breaking, the proprietor, Jackie didn't care. It was business.

The tavern's front door swung open to reveal two newcomers entering the bar, one of them a noble elf maiden, wearing a long blue robe, her opalescent stare marking her as a moon elf, a denizen of the Feywild. The other looked to be a human girl, but her overlong side burns and tangled mane marked her as one of the shifters, a race of natural lycanthropes. The elf looked doubtfully around the bar, obviously worried for her companion's safety. Jackie cast them a glance, instantly sizing them up, and decided at once that they wouldn't buy as much as her regulars. She ignored them, quickly averting her attention back to other eager faces.

"Are you sure this is the place you wanted to spend your Namesday, Godric?" The raven-haired elf asked, the worry evident in her voice.

"It's supposed to have the best drinks in town!" Godric responded. "As long as you keep out of trouble," she trailed off, watching Jackie herself smash an empty bottle over the head of a drunken sailor sitting at the counter. "Why don't we just get a table over in the corner Lafayette?"

Lafayette nodded her assertion, and followed behind Godric to the corner. Godric automatically starts casting her eyes across the room, obviously looking for a bar wench to take their order. Lafayette also scanned her eyes across the bar, not for a server, but keeping an eye open for any trouble that would arise. Her thoughts turned inward to the fluttering spark of magic inherent to her, power pulsed through her soul as she was ready to attack should of these unsavory customers as much as looked at her the wrong way. As a sorceress, she was able to beckon primordial energies at will.

"And for you, ma'am?" a voice said, snapping Lafayette's attention back to the table. She looked up at the serving wench, who looked tattered and tired. Apparently, Godric had flagged her down and ordered already.

"Glass of pinot," she said curtly. The server nodded before moving away from the table. As she passed another table, a bearded man reached out and smacked her ass. Lafayette then understood why the woman looked so tired.

"Loosen up! Don't you want me to have fun today?" Godric said with a fake pout, her overlong canine teeth bared.

Lafayette sighed. Godric knew exactly what to say. Today wasn't, in fact, Godric's Namesday. Neither of the friends knew what day that was. What today was actually was the anniversary of the day that Lafayette found Godric lost in the woods, alone and starving. Lafayette was walking through the woods on her to visit an Elven town when she saw Godric living with a tribe of wolves. She had no clothes, no shoes, and was fighting with a wolf over a piece of raw meat. Ever since that day, Lafayette had taken Godric in and raised her as she would her own daughter. And just like any mother, she was fiercely protective. Unlike any mother however, she could melt the face off of anyone who threatened her daughter. Lafayette had tried teaching Godric the same arcane arts she practiced, but Godric was always more connected with the primal magic of the forest. Lafayette tried to not let it bother her, it was still magic after all, and nothing mattered to her more than her daughter.

"I apologize dear heart." The elf said with a smile. Godric returned with a brightened look on her face, her golden eyes flashing, as the server returned with their drinks. Lafayette lifted her glass with a smile. "To today, may we have many more years ahead of us."

***

Matthias stumbled into the alleyway behind Jackie's bar, belching. He had far too much to drink, again. But no matter how he tried, he couldn't keep away from Jackie's bar. In his mind, he was convinced that the pirate-turned bartender had charmed him into returning night after night. In reality, he was an alcoholic.

He stopped walking suddenly as the overwhelming feeling of a full bladder hit him. He glanced up and down the alley and seeing nothing but others as drunk as he was, fell forward, plastering a hand on the side of the alley and untying his pants. He closed his eyes and moaned, feeling relieved. In his distracted state, he didn't notice the figure running at him from the side. He did, however, notice the pain in his cheek when this Eladrin landed a punch on him. He turned, plastering his back against the building, and barely managed to raise his arm in time to block the next punch aimed at his face.

"By the nine hells, what are you doing!" Matthias yelled angrily. He looked into the face of his attacker and was slightly taken off guard at how ugly the Eladrin was. Most Eladrin are known for their fair complexion and their straight loose hair. This Eladrin's face was covered in various scars, and his hair was unkempt like a wild mane. He got no response from the character, simply another punch in the face.

Matthias grinned and raised his own right fist, which was tightly wrapped with a chain. He didn't know if his attacker recognized the chain as a symbol of his affiliation to the Chainers, or simply thought it was his weapon, but either way he didn't care. He lead with a quick jab to the cheek with his unarmed fist, and wasn't surprised when his attacker leaned away from the hit with little effort, knowing that no one starts a fight if they're not confident they can win. His jab was meant more as a feint however, and as the elf leaned away, Matthias landed a punch to the elves nose. The chain caused red rusty blood to spray out of the elves nose. The elf stumbled back, and Matthias grinned, moving forward.

***

Trek tried to not let the stares of the townsfolk bother him as he made his way down the street. Being a Dragonborn, he understood the looks of horror. Most villagers were not used to seeing one covered in scaly hides, being close to seven feet tall, or having hornlike scales as opposed to hair. Of course, he knew they were unbiased fears. He wasn't going to attack the gawking passerby's– in fact he actually quite enjoyed this little burg. Some long suppressed part of him wanted to find some heroic deed to accomplish, something that would stop the stares and validate his existence. He didn't quite know where that desire came from. He knew he wouldn't be staying in this town for long, he never did. Nothing could fill the part of his heart that desired adventure. He'd move on, and get the same horrified looks from different horrified faces.

He sighed, which came out as a hiss and caused a passing mother to tighten her grip on his child, as he turned his head slightly to glance down the alley he was passing. He noticed the bums and the reek of vomit, but he also noticed an elf stumbling back, holding his nose in pain and spitting blood. The next moment provided the assailant, a mere human marching at him with an evil grin on his face.

***

"You made a foolish mistake today, you hideous son of an elf and an orc, and you're going to pay for it." Matthias cackled, quite proud of his insult, and raised his hand for another punch. All of a sudden he was starring at the stars and crushed by a great weight. When his back hit the rubble on the ground he felt the wind blast out of his lungs. As he gasped for breath, thick hands pounded against his temple, causing spots to appear in his vision. Before he had a chance to react, the weight was gone, and he felt himself getting lifted to his feet.

"Leave." Was all the rough voice said, sounding like thunder, and when the hand released the back of his tunic, he was happy to oblige. He took off, stumbling, pausing only to shout over his shoulder, "You'll pay for this, both of you!"

***

The overgrown lizard turned his attention to the Eladrin, who was wiping the blood off of his face, silently cursing his luck. He was really convinced that he was going to win the fight against the drunk and be able to earn some quick gold. He recognized the chain as the Chainers symbol and knew that his enemy would've had a decent amount of gold on him. But once the Dragonborn arrived he didn't want to press his luck. He didn't know much of Dragonborn, but knew that they were a noble race with an intrinsic feel for justice. If he got this beast to turn on him, it wouldn't be pretty. He glanced at Trek and nodded his appreciation, smiling his twisted grin.

"Thank you for your assistance." He turned to walk out of the alley, when a heavy hand dropped on his shoulder. The elf turned around to see the Dragonborn with his other hand outstretched, as if for a handshake.

"Trek." The Dragonborn said in his gravelly voice.

"Vivificus." The elf responded, hesitantly grabbing Trek's hand. Trek shook it a tad more vigorously than a normal handshake, and bore his teeth which must pass for a smile with his kind.

"Vee friend." Trek responded.

Vivificus hesitated at this comment. He was used to people either refusing to talk to him based off of his looks, or convinced of his evil nature based off of his multiple scars, resembling the various battles he fought – both for his own survival and simply for a good time. He didn't feel honored; however by the fact that Trek overlooked the fact that by his race's standard he was especially ugly, or moved by Trek's kindness, no, those emotions were for the weak. He did have to admit he was oddly amused by the beast.

"Friends, yes. Would you like to get a drink?" He asked, wrapping his arm around the large dragonkin and moving towards Bloody Jackie's.

Trek nodded, and happily followed his new friend into the bar. Vificious smiled while leading the way. Maybe this creature would have a decent amount of gold that he could pilfer, or even better, maybe he could this dolt to rob someone truly wealthy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A stoic figure trudged down a long, dark hallway, running the fingers of her one hand across the damp stone walls. Her blazing red hair which contrasted with her pale skin was pulled back in a tight bun. Azara was sick of being underground, in this tomb, but she knew it was necessary. Her eyes were wide open, and she seemed fully aware of her surroundings, but in her head, like a true zealot, she was praying frantically to her patron, Bane. Bane, along with His followers, is the embodiment of tyranny. The lust for power is uncanny, and Bane desires to rule over all the other deities. The longer Azara exhorted Bane's dark glory, the more she tightened her fist around Bane's Holy Symbol, a gauntleted fist wrapped in dark plate armor.

Azara reached the end of the hallway and let out a frustrated grunt. She didn't think that the tomb they were looking for was here. They had wasted time in this worthless place, something that Bane could not forgive! Azara didn't believe she could possibly be any more frustrated with herself, failure in the Black Hands church was the worst sin. Bane asked her and His other followers to find this tomb. This mission was entrusted to Azara so she mustn't fail! So why did it feel like she wasn't any closer to her goal, it had been weeks.

"My lady?" a very hesitant squeaky voice called out. Azara turned her imperial gaze upon a goblin kneeling down in front of her. Knowing not to look upon his superior, he kept his head down, staring at the lines in the cobblestone very intently.

"Go on." Azara commanded this lowly creature. As Bane's scriptures demanded, she must control those weaker than her.

"It appears we found a tomb of Oghma, a human God of knowledge…"

"I do not need you to tell me who Oghma is!" Azara corrected, causing the goblin to flinch in fear. As Bane commanded, corrections must occur. "It's not the tomb we are looking for and therefore we have failed once again, something the Dark Lord reviles!" Her hand automatically went down to her waist and she wrapped her hand tightly around the handle of her Morningstar, the glossy black iron head riddled with spiky protrusions. She noticed the goblins eyes slowly leave the floor and lock onto her weapon, and she felt a twisted pleasure as she watched the putrid creature squirm, she so enjoyed corrected those below her.

"Tell me your name, creature." Azara said soothingly, running her one finger down the goblin's cheek, her black fingernails tracing a path across its muzzle.

The goblin's mouth moved, but no words came out. He swallowed nervously before trying again. "Nogekt." He said, his voice barely a whisper.

"Well Nogekt, do you know what Bane thinks of failure?" Azara asked in her same calm voice. Nogekt shook his head violently.

She leaned in close, until her lips were practically on Nogekt's cheek. He flinched away from the feel of her warm breath on his body, but he didn't dare pull away. "He despises failure." As she spoke these words, her tone changed from soothing to terrifying, and she brought her mace out in such a fluid movement that the other goblins watching the scene weren't even sure what had happened, as they were distracted by the thundering noise emanating from the enchanted weapon. They quickly realized when they saw Nogekt fall to the floor, his head bashed in and his brains leaking onto the stone floor. "Failure is unforgivable. He has been corrected." Azara said, as she slid her Morningstar back in her belt without bothering to clean it, and turned to the next nearest goblin. "Please tell me you have some good news?"

The goblin hesitated, causing Azara to take an angry step towards him, breaking him out of his trance. "Yes! Yes!" The goblin screamed, falling to the ground and throwing a piece of parchment forward. Azara scooped it up as the goblin started sobbing in fear, and a rare genuine smile passed over her face.

It was a map of the Thar, the vacant scrubland north of Hulburg. It had several other tombs marked as belong to various goodly Gods. _Perfect. Oghma's loremasters have some use after all, apparently_. Azara thought. The map wasn't perfect, not every tomb was labeled and she was convinced that some of the tombs simply didn't exist anymore, but now Azara knew exactly where she was going. She cackled regarding the lump of goblin on the floor. "Consider yourself lucky, maggot. Bane is pleased, and as such, I am pleased. For now..." With that, Azara turned suddenly, heading back towards the surface. "We depart at once." As she walked away she began praying once again, this time begging Bane for more time to complete her task before He decided to "correct" her.

***

"So," Godric said, leaning in closer to Lafayette, "what do you think _his_ story is?"

Lafayette didn't even have to look to know that Godric was, once again, referring to the Dragonborn who had entered the bar a couple hours ago. The hulking beast walked in with a hideous elf and promptly took a table. They've been drinking in near silence ever sense. Lafayette wasn't sure what offended her senses more, the beast or the travesty to her race. Godric was amazed by him, and was plagued with curiosity about what the female Dragonborns would look like, and was trying to convince her mother to allow for her to go and talk to him ever sense. Lafayette had never seen a Dragonborn, well, in person that is, and was getting more aggravated at her daughter's attempts to risk her life for a conversation with the beast. Rationally she knew that Godric would be safe enough, she had her own magicks to protect her. But mothers are not always rational.

"Leave it be, Godric." She said curtly. "Nothing good could come from it and –"

Lafayette's voice trailed off as she noticed Godric shaking her head curtly. "No, not him! Him!" Godric whispered, tilting her head slightly towards the bar. Lafayette turned in her seat and was stunned by what she saw. The man standing in the door way appeared at first glance to be a very tall human. The fact that his skin was light blue changed that opinion quite quickly. Upon further inspection, Lafayette noticed another odd feature – this man was standing perfectly still. His eyes were moving, scanning the room, but that was it. He wasn't shifting weight between his two legs, he wasn't fidgeting, nothing. His white cloths contrasted with his skin tone, and his skin itself was covered with pearly white markings that seemed tattooed to his face and arms.

"Don't stare, Godric." Lafayette said, the motherly instincts kicking in.

"I don't think he'll even notice us doing it…" Godric said, not even bothering to whisper anymore. Lafayette took a glance across the room and knew that her daughter was telling the truth. Everyone in the bar, including the Dragonborn, was staring at this man. Lafayette could tell that some of them were sizing him up, deciding what he was worth, Jackie among them. Jackie couldn't tell if this man was one to drink. Most of the room, though was staring at him in awe. There was something just plain good about him.

***

Vivificus was sitting next to his new… friend… enjoying his drink, when he noticed the entire tavern become silent. He glanced up and for whatever reason, found himself slightly irritated by the man, if he could be called that, standing at the doorway. There was just something too good about him. He offended Vivificus' senses. Vivificus had a nagging feeling that he knew this man from somewhere, but like the rest of his life, all of his memories were slightly hazy. Vivificus was cursed with amnesia. Why? He didn't know and he didn't care.

"Vee, look." Treks said, raising his large fist to point.

"Now don't be rude, Treks." Vivificus said, adjusting himself in his seat to get a better look at what was going on. Vivificus smiled, having apparently found his new target. This man was dressed in a very fancy robe, with a heavy armor underneath; he had to have some money on him. The trick, however, was figuring out how to involve Trek without offending the Dragonborn's sense of pride.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the man in the door said loudly, silencing every whisper throughout the bar. Vivificus eyes flashed to Jackie to catch her reaction. She didn't look amused by the man or the fact that no one was buying any drinks at the moment. Jackie gave the Eladrin a knowing look before turning and walking into the back room, obviously not caring about what this man had to say.

"As I am sure many of you have heard, there has been horrific events occurring lately. The spirits of the dead are not permitted to rest in peace, not when there are despicable beings out there looting the local barrows." A few of the taverns less savory customers laughed at this, and the charismatic man shifted his gaze slightly, causing them to fall silent once more. Vivificus shifted awkwardly in his seat. Just watching this man stand perfectly still made him feel uncomfortable. The elf hated feeling uncomfortable.

"This atrocity cannot continue. It is a crime against your town and a crime against our Gods. The priests worked tirelessly during their life, devoting themselves to their people and the ideals their Gods represent, and they need to find the rest they deserve. I am looking for companions to accompany me to look into this matter." He paused, obviously waiting for someone to speak up.

The scarred elf chuckled under his breath, thinking of what a fool this man was when Treks nudged his new friend in the shoulder. Vivificus looked at Treks dubiously. "You've got to be kidding me." He whispered. "Absolutely not."

"If some of you need more motivation than the chance for a good deed, Knight-General Kara Hulmaster is offering a fair reward for any information given to her that can help prevent any further occurrences. I will be more than willing to split the reward, evenly." At this, a mumble went around the room of people discussing what they could do with the reward with their companions. Most of the talks ended with the idea of drinks, prostitutes, and the like. "If anyone is interested, please come have a word with me." With this, he walked to a point next to the bar and crossed his hands in front of him, standing motionless waiting for someone.

Treks nudged the elf slightly harder, grunting. "Vee!" Vivificus regarded the Dragonborn and sighed, thinking of a way to spin this to his benefit. Vivificus was also thinking of how unfair it was to be the only intelligent one.

"Alright Treks, we can go." At this, Treks jumped out of his seat excitedly. "Wait!" Treks turned back to his friend, confused at the delay. Treks was worried that he would miss his chance in joining up with this man.

"This man is obviously devoted to the moral reasoning behind the quest, not the reward. I think it's only fair since we were asked to join him that we get a larger share of the reward." Vivificus said slyly. He supposed that being smarter than most did in fact have its own advantages.

***

Godric looked from the man to her adopted mother. Lafayette had gone back to her glass of pinot, apparently bored by the speech that was just given. Godric loved Lafayette just as much as she would've loved her birth mother, but Lafayette's sense of protection sometimes got close to suffocating. Godric didn't spend her time learning to communicate with nature simply for the thrill of it. There were rewards such as the whimsy of hearing an eagle's first hand perspective of flying was fascinating. She was learning druidic magic in order to go out, adventure, right some wrongs in the world and perhaps restore the balance that all humanoids had inflicted.

She desperately wanted to go up to this man and accept his offer, but she knew that as soon as she asked, her idea would be shot down. So… what if she didn't ask?

"Mom…" she stared hesitantly. Lafayette looked across the table, her eyes flashing ever brightly.

"No, my dear. I know what you're about to say. We're not going with that man, and that's final."

"I knew that's what you were going to say, so…" Godric hesitated, biting her lip nervously, her small fangs bared. "So that's why I'm not asking." She jumped out of her chair and started across the room. "I'm sorry." She said over her shoulder, before running across the room. Lafayette was up in a flash, chasing after her daughter while trying to prevent a scene, cursing how athletic her little girl had become.

***

Orion was started to get annoyed, for the first time in his life. Well, of _this_ life, at least. He was a Deva, those who were at one point immortal servitors to the Gods of good. However, they decided to bind themselves to the world in mortal flesh in order to wage an endless war against the forces of darkness. They lost their immortality, but as a repayment when their life ends, they are reborn in another part of the planet, as a grown adult, with some slight memories of their previous lives. Orion awoke in the woods surrounding this town a week ago, before wandering into town today looking for some wrongs to right. This was his way.

He didn't like the fact that it was taking so long for this tavern's customers to come up to him. He wasn't thrilled with the fact of asking in a tavern, but he didn't want to waste any more time than was necessary. The tombs were being broken into more frequently as of late; at least that's what the guard he talked to informed him. The longer he waited to set out, the worse this situation could become.

A flash of memory danced across Orion's mind. He remembered a tavern similar to this one, in a tavern surrounded by his friends. The faces were shadowed in his mind, and his consciousness snapped back to the present. He felt a tear started to form, as he missed someone he knew possibly hundreds of years ago.

As he came to, his eyes were drawn to a woman with wild hair running over to him, with an Eladrin chasing after her, reaching for her shoulder. The Shifter angled her body effortlessly to slip out of the elf's grasp. She bounced over to Orion excitedly.

"Hi. I'd like to come with you." She said, grinning and extending her hand. "My name is Godric."

Orion grinned, and Godric was slightly taken aback at his pearly white teeth, he did look perfect after all. "My pleasure, Godric. I am known as Orion, and it would be an honor to have you accompany me." He considered the elf that was gnashing her teeth behind Godric. "Would you like to come along as well, m'lady?"

The elf reached out, placing her hand on Godric's shoulder, preparing to disappoint her daughter. Godric spun around, and looked into her mother's eyes with such intensity that Lafayette knew that no matter what she would say Godric was still going with Orion. This wouldn't do at all. Perhaps she could research some ritual to remove the lust for adventure in her daughter. Lafayette quickly scolder herself for this thought. Godric's wild spirit was just a part of the girl she so dearly loved.

She smiled, defeated. "Well, I can't let my darling Godric get into trouble, can I? I don't know what she would do without me there."

Godric's face exploded into one of the biggest smiles of her entire life, as she jumped into Lafayette's arm, burying her in a hug. Orion smiled watching the two. He could tell already that he liked them. He considered the other Eladrin and the Dragonborn coming up to him.

"Hello." He said calmly. "I trust that you two are also here to aid our mission?"

"That we are." The scarred Eladrin said. Lafayette's body tensed as she considered the Dragonborn. "However, with the services my friend and I bring, I think it's only fair we get half of the reward."

Orion's eyes narrowed at this man. He cared nothing for material possessions, so he would happily give up his own share of the reward… if asked politely and with respect. However, the fact that this newcomer was trying to swindle the two females out of their share bothered Orion. He noticed the Dragonkin shift his weight anxiously, clearly wanting to get moving. "What is your name?" Orion asked, addressing the beast.

The Dragonborn looked at the Eladrin before answering. Orion noted this, deciding that the Dragonborn was letting the elf call the shots. "Treks." He simply said, after a slight pause.

"Treks. It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Orion." He said, stepping past the fuming elf. "I couldn't help but noticing that broadsword on your back. It is a fine blade." Treks nodded happily at this. "However, the fifth of the reward that you're going to get from our adventure is more than enough to purchase yourself a new, finer blade."

Treks' eyes widened at this, and he turned, smacking Vivificus in the shoulder. "Vee, we go."

Vivificus sighed, knowing he was defeated. The fool! The Eladrin's eyes screamed silently. He didn't much like this man, but gold was gold. He didn't like the fact that he was earning this gold, fairly, for one of the first times in his life, at least of the life he remembered, but maybe he'd find some way on the quest to line his pockets slightly. "Fine," he said, shrugging his thin shoulders.

Vivificus noticed Orion looking at him, apparently waiting for an introduction. The Eladrin scoffed at this. He wasn't going to waste his time with introductions.

"Great. I think this should be enough." Orion said, after a slight pause, walking forward. "Everyone have their packs prepared? We can head out as soon as possible." He noticed the silence from his companions, and turned to consider them.

"Leave now?" Godric said doubtfully. "It's the middle of the night, and my pack is not suited for an adventure. I still need a torch and some holly… oh, maybe some mistletoe would help… and –"

"Why don't we rent two rooms here at the tavern?" Lafayette interupted, wrapping her arm around Godric's neck. "My treat. We'll stay the night here, prepare to head out first thing in the morning and then leave as soon as possible." She wasn't thrilled about paying for a room for these three men, but she'd much rather spend the gold to let her daughter get a good night's rest.

Orion nodded, the look from Trek and the angry, scarred face told him that he had no way to talk himself out of this situation. A couple more hours wouldn't bring about disaster, at least, he hoped. His God, Lathander, obviously put him in this town for a reason. "Sounds delightful." He said, forcing a smile, and wondering what he would do while his new companions slept.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Early the next morning, as the sun was still rising over the horizon, the companions gathered in front of the Worldend Tavern. Godric was rummaging through her bags, making sure every she had everything necessary. As she picked up each accruement, she made an off-hand comment about everything she saw. Vivificus was annoyed. Already. He had a feeling it was going to be a long journey.

Lafayette clandestinely watched everything. She didn't feel threatened by the Deva, but she wasn't sure of how she felt about the sword carrying Eldadin or the massive Dragonborn. Vivificus and Treks both seemed the strong silent type and they made her nervous. Her eyes moved over to Orion, who was conversing with the tavern mistress Jackie. She couldn't hear their conversation, somehow she never got around to learning a spell to assist in eavesdropping. From what she saw the previous night, however, she was sure that no kind words were spewing from Jackie's foul mouth. After a long conversation, Orion, seemingly frustrated, finally nodded, handed over some gold, and rejoined the group.

"I bartered for us four horses and a draft horse for Treks." He said, looking over his shoulder at the barkeep, who was as giddy as Jackie got, counting her gold. "The price was… high, but we have them for a tenday, though I doubt it'll take us that long to find the thieves." He smiled at his new companions, and a flash appeared in his head of himself and a dwarf, gearing up for an adventure together. He pushed the memory back, hoping to remember more later, but for now focused on the present, asking "Are we ready to go?"

***

The companions rode on in near silence. Orion was leading at a brisk pace, Lafayette and Godric followed behind, conversing with each other in low voices. Lafayette fawning over Godric's safety and Godric assuring her mother that they'd be fine. Treks was riding behind them, looking bored and hungry, and Vivificus was riding about ten paces behind the rest of the group, scanning the trees for any potential danger. He had his sword with him, which occasionally pulsed with a light blue light, but he had no armor that a swordsman usually would travel in. When Orion asked him about it, Vivificus simply laughed, assuring the Deva that he'd be fine.

Treks felt his belly rumble. He was hungry, again. This was nothing new, Treks was never full. He looked over his shoulder at his pack, and reached out for it, his claws got closer and closer, almost there, but he grunted in disappointment when it was just out of reach. He glanced ahead, debating about stopping temporarily to get his food, when he noticed Lafayette's pack dangling off the back of her horse, it's strap open, and a ration sitting on top… a delicious ration of wolf meat. He prodding his horse on until he was riding right behind Lafayette's horse and he reached out, mouth watering, his saurian tongue licking his lips in anticipation.

***

Lafayette sighed, looking up at the sun and smiling. As upset as she was at Godric, she had no complaints at the moment. They had been riding for a couple of hours now, and it was a lovely day. She was having a wonderful conversation with her beloved Godric, and the other three companions were keeping to themselves; and as much as she would never admit it to Godric, she missed these days of being an adventurer on the open road…

"Are you thirsty, dear-heart?" Lafayette asked, turning to her daughter, scolding herself for her memories.

Godric shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Let me get you a drink anyway, it's a warm day." Lafayette childed, smiling. She reached over her shoulder, ignoring Godric's arguments that she was a grown woman and knew when she was thirsty. Lafayette still saw Godric as the little cub she had found, not the grown woman she had become. The mage attempted to pull her pack to her and was confused when she felt resistance on the bag… as if her bag was pulling back against her. That was odd, she turned, puzzled, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw the dragonborn's hand inside of her bag, rummaging through.

"What in the Abyss are you doing?" Lafayette screamed her eyes sparkling with untamed magic. This caused Treks to look up, baffled to what was wrong, and made Orion turn his horse around, sighing. The trip had been going so well.

"Treks hungry!" Treks grunted at the sorceress like there was no explanation needed, as if Lafayette was dumb for not understanding his motivation.

Lafayette continued screaming, when Vivificus rode up to them, his hand outstretched. "Quiet." He said, shushing the angry eladrin.

"Quiet? Don't tell me t-" Lafayette snapped, angrily, before Godric cut her off.

"No, mother, listen…" Godric said; her head slightly tilted, listening to something in the distance. Lafayette turned, staring into the woods, puzzled.

"What are we listening to?" Lafayette asked, as Orion pulled his copper mace off of his back. Before anyone could respond to her, a goblin leaped from the brush, ramming himself into Lafayette and knocking her off of her horse. She landed hard on the ground, grunting in pain.

Lafayette glared at the beast, fire burning in her eyes as she struggled to free her hands from the goblin's grip. She wanted to burn this little worm to ash, and the goblin was force to use all of his strength to hold her arms down. The little beast grinned down at her wickedly. She was going to have to do more than burn this simpleton when she was free, she decided.

"Treks coming Lala!" Treks yelled, turning to get off of his horse, when he heard a growl coming from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see a wolf giving him it's feral grin. The wolf pounced, attempting to drag Treks from his saddle. At the same time Treks twisted his body in order to face the wolf and spring out at the beast. The two collided in midair, and fell to the ground in a twisted array of limbs and jaws, the wolf growling and snapping for Treks' face. Treks played a defensive game, keeping his throat away from the wolf's questing mouth. Treks' horse let out a terrified shriek in its inhuman voice, and galloped away from the battle. In the back of his mind, Treks missed his horse. He was a good horsey. Treks kept his mind on the battle though, deciding to find his horse later.

Godric, the deva, and the eladrin climbed off of their horses planning to come to Treks or Lafayette's aid, but before they were able to help their friends, they found themselves surrounded by goblins as well. Godric started chanting spells, reaching for one of the many charms that aided her magics, as Vivificus and Orion placed themselves back-to-back in a defensive position.

"These are pretty brave goblins…" The eladrin remarked, swinging his sword and taking the arm off the nearest unfortunate goblin. His sword hummed a quick note, the foul blood sliding off the blade.

Orion struck out with his shield, smacking another goblin in its muzzle and shoving the monster away. His eyes scanned the sea of goblins facing them and remarked "They have the advantage in numbers," to Vivificus, then raised his voice. "Fight the foul beasts back my companions. Show them the error that they have made on this day." His voice was loud and clear, something about it resonated and motivated his companions. While he was finishing this speech, he noticed a pinecone flying over his head. It struck a goblin out in their grubby ranks, and on contact burst into flames. The goblin screamed, dropping to the ground and rolling around. The fire didn't stop with one goblin. It spread, using anything as a fuel: grass, leaves, goblins… Orion glanced behind him at a beaming druidic face. He smiled at her before adverting his attention back to combat, smashing in the head of an approaching goblin with a swing of his mace. The goblin used his last breath to curse the deva before falling to the ground.

Lafayette tried once more to push the goblin off of her, cursing the luck that the goblin on top of her was the only goblin she'd ever seen with enough strength to hold her down. She might not be as muscular as Treks, but she knew she was no weakling either. The goblin shouted something in its native tongue, and Lafayette groaned when she realized it was a call for one of its foul companions. The new goblin ran at them, hate in his eyes, as he drew his dagger. The Eladrin knew that no one was coming to her aid, and she had to take care of herself.

She looked back at the goblin holding her down, and feigned terror. She screamed, and passed out. The confused goblin on top of her loosened his grip, just barely, but enough for Lafayette. The tricks she had gathered the last century were not all magical in nature. Her eyes flew back open, fury blazing in them, as she forced her head up with all of her might. The goblin screamed, clutching at its battered nose as it stumbled off of her. Lafayette, still on the ground, threw up her palms and whispered words of no little power, flames poured out of her palms, engulfing the two goblins. When the flames separated, all that was left was two burned corpses. Lafayette stood up, pulled a long slender oaken wand out of her robe, and brushed herself off. She ran forward to join in the battle.

Godric raised open palms to the air and grinned when thorns sprung out of the ground, engulfing a goblin. She could no longer see the goblin, but heard its terrified yelps. Whenever it moved, it grazed part of its body against a thorn, the sanguine plant feeding off of the red water. It would be stuck in there a while. Godric was enjoying herself, feeling the power of nature flow through her. Using this power to defeat these beasts and assist her friends. She knew that her adoptive mother was once an adventurer, and Lafayette spoke fondly of those times, on the rare occasions that she would talk of it, and now Godric knew why. She looked around, and got even more excited when she saw Lafayette approaching her. "Mother look!" She shouted, jumping in excitement. Lafayette pulled her arm back and threw a punch towards her daughters face. Trailing from the fist was a glob of acid. Godric squealed and covered her face, as the acid went over her shoulder, scalding the face of the goblin that was approaching her.

"Stay alert Godric." Lafayette scolded, "the battlefield is not a place to be taken lightly. Orion, what is our plan?" She asked, adverting her attention away from her blushing daughter.

Orion wished he knew, but kept that thought silent. It was his job to bolster his allies' confidence. "What are the goblins goals?" He asked out loud, scanning across the sea of foes once more.

"I do not believe these creatures are smart enough to have goals." Lafayette muttered, raising her hand to throw another acid attack at her foes. Right before she said the trigger word though, a funny feeling came over her. Her nose twitched, her eyes started to water, and she looked down, letting out a sneeze. The acid flew from her hand, not as potent due to the interruption of her spell, but she still screamed as the acid splattered across her feet, burning through her boots.

"Mother!" Godric screamed, running to the elf's side.

"That's not normal. She may be reckless, but I trust her to throw a spell without sneezing." Vivificus advised his companion. Suddenly a mace swung under his defensive position. He willed a bit of his magical energies towards the head of the weapon, and the mace was deflected as if it had bounced off a shield. Vivificus hoped the deva saw this. Orion did, and realized that his companion was no normal swordsman. Orion had enough experience with those who practice these arcane arts, known to the common man as a Swordmage. Vivificus did not need armor to protect him.

Orion agreed with the assessment. "Look, behind these troops." He said. Vivificus glanced up and saw a goblin in a robe, waving a totem in the shape of a bear over his head, chanting magical words. Vivificus was no studious student of the arcane, but he knew enough to know that this goblin was chanting half invocation, half nonsense. However, for a goblin, he was probably one of the better spell casters. Vivificus groaned. "Great."

"We need to take him out. Make your way to him." Orion commanded. Vivificus hesitated, angered by an order, but knew that the Deva was right. He chanted a word, and disappeared. Orion understood Eladrins enough to know what happened. Eladrins are creatures of the Feywild, a plane of existence not unlike their own world. In fact, the Feywild was a reflection of this world, the main difference being that it was brighter and more magical. Those who have a connection to the Feywild can use it for travel, and sure enough, Vivificus appeared behind the goblin warriors, a couple of steps away from the shaman, who started enacting defensive spells.

"Lafayette, are you okay?" Orion asked, concerned for the woman.

"I'm fine." Lafayette said, in response to both Orion and her daughter, fawning over her. She looked down at her mangled shoes, knowing they were useless now, but thankful for their existence. Without them, it might have been her mangled feet she was looking at.

"You and Godric stay alert!" Orion yelled back.

"Where are you going?" Lafyette started to ask, but got no respond as Orion yelled and started barreling through the goblins. He needed to reach Vivificus. "Godric, pay attention to the battle!" She screamed, as a goblin charged right at her daughter. Godric turned, but not in time to stop the goblin as it slammed into her back, knocking her to the ground.

***

Treks groaned as he was flipped onto his back once more, feeling the wolf's warm breath on his face. He was able to keep the jaw away from any vital places, but his forearms were covered in bite marks and he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to keep this beast back. But he knew that none but he possessed the strength to hold the wolf back, and he accepted another bite to his shoulder. Some nobility deep in his blood responded, he knew that it was another bite he was keeping off of his friends. But that last bite was deeper than the others, and he felt his blood start to flow down his arm. The scent of blood seemed to energize the wolf, but it was nothing compared to the fury that it awoke inside of Treks. His eyes narrowed in rage as the blood warmed his skin, letting out a growl and releasing his grip on the lupine face. The wolf lunged out hungrily, but Treks wrapped his arms around the wolf's hind leg, pushing out with all of his considerable might.

The wolf struggled, confused as Treks slid his feet beneath him and jumped to a standing position, lifting the wolf off of the ground. He let out a scream, and spun his body, pulling the terrified beast by its leg. The wolf yelped as Treks changed his momentum suddenly, and the wolf flew through the air, smashing into a tree. The leg that Treks was holding, however, stayed with the barbarian. Treks looked at the three-legged wolf, and when he saw that it was not moving, he turned towards the goblins, unsheathing his greatsword.

He was not satisfied yet.

***

"GODRIC!" Lafayette howled as her daughter hit the ground. She ran to assist her, but her path was quickly blocked by more goblins. "Poor choice." She growled, spinning her hands and chanting. She opened her mouth ecstatically. A bolt of bright, yellow lightning flew out of her mouth, blasting away the closest goblin. The bolt twisted back and engulfed Lafayette in a bright light. The next goblin swung his sword out, slashing against her chest. He let out of triumphant yell, but instead of cutting open her chest as he had intended, the lightning, seeking someway to ground itself, travelled into the goblins sword, exploding with energy and flinging the goblins' body back twenty feet. The other two goblins starred at the energized elf, glanced at each other, and started running away.

Lafayette took a step towards the daughter, not caring if the goblins got away. They weren't the one who attacked her precious daughter. The goblins glanced over their shoulder, seeing if the glowing woman was pursuing them, and let out a relieved sigh that they had escaped the furious elf. The sigh turned into a grunt though, when they looked back in front of them, only to realize they had collided with a furious Dragonborn. He smiled down at the two goblins, who gulped in fear.

***

Godric sighed, trying to clear her mind and keep her thoughts off of the pain in her chest. She could tell that the goblin's dagger had penetrated her chest. But she was attempting something she had never been able to pull off before, and she knew that it was the only way to fight this goblin off of her. She needed to concentrate.

She communed directly with the oak father, finding balance in the perfect nature of the world. She prayed to the nature gods, and she felt her face start to stretch, and her heart started beating in anticipation. The goblin hesitated, confused by what was happening, and jumped in shock when the young woman underneath him suddenly grew a layer of silver fur. He stumbled off of her, when Godric's entire body convulsed one final time, knocking the dagger out of her chest. She flipped over, and pounced on the goblin. Eighty pounds of furious wolf knocked over the yellow skinned humanoid. She barred her teeth and ripped out his throat.

***

Vivificus swung his sword again, once more the sword ringing off an invisible barrier. He knew that this lowly beast should not know a spell to enact such an effective ward. A quick survey off the area confirmed his suspicion. There was a discarded scroll. The words of power were no longer visible, but Vivificus knew that this goblin was not the one to write them. The goblin let out a disgusting laugh, launching into another spell. An incorporeal eagle descended, scrapping his talons along Vivificus' skin. No marks appeared though, being deflected by Vivificus' own wards.

"Which one of our defenses will fail first, scum?" He mocked, as his sword started to glow with magical energy. He swung the sword in an arc over his head. The energy condensed into a single bolt of light. The attack shattered through the goblins protections and knocked into its chest. The shaman stumbled back, dazed, as the scarred eladrin struck out once more. With that hit, he felt the magic tremble. It wouldn't hold much longer.

The goblin, fearing for its safety, struck the bear shaped totem on the ground. Black smoked starting spewing from the effigy's twisted mouth. The shaman smiled a wicked little grin at Vivificus, as the two disappeared into the smoke. Vivificus didn't hesitate, leaping into the darkness, stabbing his sword in front of him. He instantly knew he struck nothing but air, and pulled his arm back. He concentrated, listening for any movement in the darkness and waiting for his chance to strike.

He flinched as he felt the effigy crack strike against his spine, but the goblin made a fatal error. Vivificus could take a hit with a blunt weapon and keep going, but as the eladrin flung his sword out he felt it sink into the goblin's chest, teaching the goblin never to trade blows with a swordmage. The shaman coughed, blood trickling out the side of his mouth. With its death, the smoke instantly evaporated. Vivificus pulled his sword out of the body, and the goblin fell to the ground, his eyes staring out from oblivion. Vivificus cleaned his blade with the beast's robe, and turned to see Orion by his side.

***

Treks felt the fury leave him, and he glanced around, seeing the last few goblins retreating back into the forest. He felt an urge to chase after them, but knew that it wasn't worth it. He turned his attention to the two women, to make sure they were okay, thinking that maybe they'd give him some food. Fighting made him hungry.

"Lala, look out!" He screamed as the sorceress bent over towards a new wolf. He ran to her aid, sword in hand, with every intention to cut down the beast. He was shocked to see the wolf hide behind Lafayette. Treks stopped, confused, and looked up at Lafayette, who didn't even notice Treks. She rubbed her hand against the wolves head, and the wolf barred its teeth… not in a threatening manner, but almost in a grin.

"You finally did it, dear heart." She said happily.

"Gogo wolf?" Treks said. He did not understand what was going on.

***

"Thank the Gods that the goblins are useless without their leader." Orion said, at Vivificus' side. The elf was rummaging through the pockets of the beast. "Why are you robbing him?" Orion accused.

Vivificus looked up at the Deva, hurt. "I'm looking for a clue to why they attacked us." Orion nodded, and looked upon the other members of their group, checking that they were safe. While he turned, Vivificus quickly pocketed the bag of coins the shaman was carrying. His hands also moved to the necklace that was around the goblins' neck, but he stopped when he saw what the symbol was. "Huh."

"What is it?" Orion asked, looking down. His muscles tightened when he saw the black fist wrapped in dark plate armor.

"Did you ever hear of a goblin worshipping Bane?" Vivificus said, looking up at his companion. Orion simply shook his head. "Yeah, me neither."

"I know not why worshipers of Bane are attacking us. Perhaps this is in some way related to the robbing of the tombs. If Bane is responsible to me this is all the more reason to stop them. We better tell the others what we know." Orion stated, turning to rejoin his companions. "Leave the unholy symbol where it is." He commanded.

"Yeah, I'm going to pass this up." The elf muttered, pocketing the symbol, figuring he could sell it to a blacksmith to melt down back in town. He looked back to make sure no one was watching, and slipped the totem into his pocket as well. It was a fairly powerful magic item, one he was sure would fetch him a decent price as well. Maybe it was worth coming out on this trip with the fools after all.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Azara closed her eyes and took a deep breath, cleansing all stray thoughts from her mind. There was only room for her devotions. Bane was proud of her for finding the correct tomb – those who worshipped Oghma may have been foolish during life, but those same fools unknowingly served her after they passed. She opened her eyes; focusing and looking pass the columns on either side of the room. She knew that Bane's approval only lasted as long as she provided results. She must hurry.

At the end of the room was an extravagant tomb, decorated with roses and amethysts. Even though they were deep in a crypt, a good league underground, where no natural sunlight would shine, the grave was encompassed with a light as bright as the sun and as pink as the dawn. Azara knew to expect nothing less from the grave of a High Priestess of Lathander.

Azara was disgusted.

She glanced back at the sniveling goblins that she appointed to follow her through the crypt. Lucky little beasts, to have been allowed a chance to serve the Black Hand, she thought. They were glancing around; scratching and picking as these strange beats often do, obviously caught off guard by the remarkable room they were in. Azara scowled at these miserable creatures, but took some pride in the fact that she would soon find the pleasure of ending their miserable life. After all, she couldn't leave any witnesses to the treasure that soon awaited her. Besides with their sacrifices the goblins would continue their service to the Black Throne.

"Leave me." She said, calmly, the ice on her breath seemed to chill the back of each goblin's neck. The goblins looked at each other, hesitating and chittering their poor excuse of a language. "Do not disobey my orders!" The threatening woman screamed, furious at the lack of respect. The beasts jumped in fear before running from the room, terrified. "If I require assistance, I will find you." She called after their departing figures.

Azara took another deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to find. She started walking towards the radiant tomb, picking up speed as she neared her destination. She was practically sprinting when she hit the wall, unable to take another step towards the tomb. It felt like an invisible stone wall, and as she smashed against it she saw a flash of gold fill her vision. The Black Guard of Bane was furious. Her body tensed, expecting another attack to come. Her mind whirled, generating ways to avoid the attack, and she wondered who was guarding this tomb.

Seconds passed however, and no attack came. Azara took a step back from the tomb, her eyes scanning the room looking for whatever barred her way. The room was empty, besides Azara. She hesitated, before attempting to move towards the tomb, but found herself in the same predicament, unable to move. Even her finger tips couldn't find any purchase on this barrier. It must be Lathandarian magicks.

"You couldn't make this easy for me, could you Lathander. It matters not, you will not stop me." She spit with fury. She knew not what barrier was protecting this tomb, and truthfully she cared not. All her mind was focused on was how to get through it. She pulled her spiked Morningstar out of her holder and started chanting her prayers to Bane. It would take determination to get to the tomb. Luckily for Azara, that was one of her greatest attributes.

"Oa ocketern atrum tribuo ohps shara per obex…" She recited from memory. As she finished her chant, she raised her weapon and smashed at the invisible force. The head of her Morningstar shimmered with energy and upon contact a thunderous crash resounded throughout the room. The barrier shimmered, but held steady.

Azara sighed, knowing that this would take a while. She started chanting once more, obedient to Bane until the end.

It was what he demanded of her.

***

"Treks tired!" The Dragonborn complained once more, looking up the trail at the women riding their horses.

"Tough." Lafayette responded curtly. "Godric only managed to find two of the horses after you failed to secure them before our battle. As such, it's only fair that she and I get to ride them."

Treks was not sure why it was his responsibility to tie up the horses. As he remembered, it he was saving his friends from the wolf. He was about to respond as such to the angry eladrin when he was interrupted by Orion.

"Let it be, Treks." He said, in Treks natural tongue. Lafayette turned to face the Deva, distrusting.

"Orion speaks Draconic?" Treks responded, again in his harsh language.

"Apparently." Orion responded, looking no less shocked than Treks felt. Orion glanced at his companions, to see them all giving him a strange look. He reverted back to the common tongue, and said "I wonder in which lifetime I picked that up?"

A cold white flash and Orion recalled a memory several centuries old. He stood back to back with a Dragonborn. She was dressed as a paladin might be. Both Orion and the mystery Dragonborn wore medallions bearing the platinum dragon of Bahamut.

Treks let out a loud laugh, recalling Orion from his reverie. The laugh sounded more akin to a noise that would terrify a child into their bed at night. The Dragonborn gave a friendly pat to Orion's back. If Orion wasn't prepared, the blow probably would've knocked him to the ground. "Treks like O!" He said, happily.

He had the feeling he had just made a new lifetime friend. Would he recall Treks centuries later, as he did his prior female companion?

***

"Well?" Vivificus asked the girl, dubiously. "Is this the right tomb?"

"Umm…" Godric said, staring intently at the ground and scratching her head. "Well, some of the goblin tracks go in. And some appear to go around it." She bent over, running her fingers into one of the tracks and walked down the path, deep in concentration, mouthing silently to herself. "But they seem to loop back around?"

"They were probably scouts, making sure they weren't followed." Orion said, grabbing a hold of Godric's horse. "Let's secure our rides this time; Jackie is going to give us enough trouble for losing three of her animals." The Deva shuddered at the thought of explaining the loss to the terrifying barkeep.

With those words, Godric's eyes lit up excited. "Ooo!" She squealed, running off into some trees.

"What is she doing now?" Vivificus asked, exasperated. As if to some silent call, the two horses whinied. Orion's muscles tightened as the horse he was holding started to run after the Druid. He grit his teeth and tried holding the beast back, but the horse won, running off into the forest, and Orion fell into the mud. Had anyone had bothered to look at the Deva, they may have noticed that not a speck of dirt seemed to stain his white robes.

Lafayette screamed as the horse she was still riding followed suit, following its companion into the brush.

As Treks was helping Orion off of the ground, the mother and daughter emerged from the grove, Godric beaming with happiness and Lafayette looking shaken, but unharmed.

"My dear Godric decided she would disguise the horses in camouflage." She looked over her shoulder. "She also told me that she told the horses not to move." The sorceress began to pull twigs and leaves out of her hair, flicking them at the ground.

Godric nodded happily at that. "It's true!"

Her mother sighed silently, still not truly understanding her daughter's talents. But she knew it made Godric happy, and that was enough for her.

Orion smiled at the duo – appearing to be polar opposites of each other, but feeling that even though Lafayette complained, that she was happier than she had been in a while. "Well then." The Deva said, gesturing to the tomb. "Shall we enter?"

***

Azara let out a grunt as her Morningstar hit the barrier once more. It's black tines tearing into the holy light of Lathander. It fluctuated, more so than it had before, but still held strong. She didn't know how much energy she had left in her, but knew better than to disappoint Bane. This was her last chance – she had disappointed her Dark Lord more than she would ever admit to a living being. She had to break through this barrier

Her blood ran cold, and she felt her Morningstar slip out of her hands and hit the stone beneath her. The echo rang down the halls with a loud clang. Her wards had activated, someone had just entered the tomb.

She wouldn't permit these trespasses to leave alive. She grabbed her mace off of the ground, and hurried out of the room to warn her goblins to be on alert. She scowled as she went down the hall, hoping the intruders did not kill any of the goblins. Not because she cared for the wretched creatures, but because she was looking forward to killing them herself.

They were just fodder, after all.

***

The five companions descended down the dark stairwell, Orion leading the way with Vivificus following closely behind him. Treks was sniffing at the air, although whether he was looking for danger or food none of his companions were sure. The women hesitantly followed. Godric swallowed deeply, fear setting in for the first time since she agreed to join the Deva's group. She realized now that she didn't truly comprehend what would be waiting for her ahead.

Lafayette sensed her daughters fear, and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. This small gesture boosted Godric's confidence. She was happy that her mother was standing beside her today for multiple reasons. For one, her mother's presence comforted her; she knew that Lafayette loved her deeply. The second reason being that not much could stand up to the full sorceress' power she could unleash.

Orion reached the bottom of the stairs and struck a torch, illuminating the room. The room they entered was lined with tombs. There were no obvious exits from the room, save the one they just came through, and standing up against the fall wall was a statue. Orion moved towards the statue, taking care not to disturb any of the graves, and smiled brightly at the statue once he could make out the features.

"What is it?" Vivificus asked the Deva.

"Lathander… my deity. This must be a tomb for his priests." He told the swordmage.

Vivificus looked at the statue, a young man dressed in white, and his clothes lined with gold. The statue depicted him with a mace dangling off of his hip, a cloak flowing down his back and his hair held up with a circlet. His hands were outstretched in a friendly gesture, as if he was presenting something to those looking at him, even though his hands were empty.

Vivificus wasn't sure why anyone would worship a deity that appeared as weak and benevolent as this.

While the warlord was inspecting the statue, Vivificus moved around the room, his hands running across the damp stone walls, looking for anything. A trap door, a small switch, some treasure or even better, a secret door. After his inspection he turned back to the group. "Well, Godric and Orion were obviously mistaken. This is a simple tomb, nothing more. We're wasting our time here." Having said that, he started walking back towards the stairs.

"Wait." Orion said, moving the light source closer to the statue. "There's a hole in Lathander's hands… something is supposed to fit."

"Great, so the Goblins robbed this tomb. We'll get it back when we find it. Shall we go?" Vivificus started for the exit, disdainfully sheathing his trusty longsword.

Godric ignored the eladrin, and moved forward. "All these tombs are covered in dust, they've obviously been here a while. But look at this one." She ran her finger over the top of the casket, and held it up to Orion. "It's clean, as if it's been recently tampered with. Look, there are more footprints around it. They're definitely goblin tracks."

"So what goes in his hands is… in that person's grave?" Lafayette asked, disgusted.

"It's not a bad hiding spot." Godric explained. "Who would want to disturb bodies?"

Orion's face tensed. "That tomb is the eternal resting place of a Dawnbringer. We cannot open it."

Godric hesitated, picking her words carefully as to not upset Orion. "I believe Lathander would be grateful if his statue was complete again."

While the druid and warlord were having their debate, Treks moved up next to the grave. He ran his finger across the cover, bent down, and grunted and he put all of his strength against the stone cover, shoving it off of the tomb. It hit the ground and shattered. Orion turned, furious.

"What have you done!" He screamed, moving towards the Dragonborn.

"No body. Empty." Treks said, pointing down. Orion followed his finger to see that Treks was speaking the truth. There was no awakened, a worshiper of Lathander, in the casket. Instead, there was a glass rose. As Orion held up the torch to it, the rose absorbed the light source, glowing slightly and looking radiant. The deva picked the rose up, and hurried over to the statue of his god. When he placed the rose in Lathander's outstretched hands, he swore he saw Lathander's mouth turn to a smile. As a familiar twinkle appeared in the statues eyes, the stone wall behind Lafayette suddenly moved, revealing a staircase down to the deeper level. Godric turned towards Vivificus and stuck out her tongue.

"So the druid finally earns her keep." The swordmage scowled.

"Told you this was the place." She said. Before the scarred elf had a chance to respond again, Godric ran down the stairs, curious to what she would find.

***

Below, Azara heard the shattering of the stone, and knew that the companions found the rose, as she did earlier that day. The noise was soon followed by the sliding door and hurried footsteps. She knew that the intruders would be among them soon. She personally hoped that these were worshipers of Lathander. Bane would love the irony of her striking them down in their god's own domain.

The fools had no idea who they were dealing with.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Orion's eyes widened as he surveyed their new surroundings. The glow from his torch lit up the room, revealing a library – the room was full of shelves overflowing with tomes. He pulled one from random off the nearest shelf. "The Light of the Dawnbringers," he read out loud to his companions. His eyes scanned the rest of the ancient tomes and scrolls covering the shelf. "Everyone of these is about Lathander or his followers."

"Would there be a book about your past lives?" Godric said, excited, as always, at the idea.

Orion smiled. "Possibly. I haven't worship the same deity in every life. Just earlier today I recalled a past life in which I worshipped the platinum dragon Bahamut. However, I'm sure at some point I worshiped Lathander. I can't imagine myself being complete without him." Orion's hands reached for a pendant of the Dawn Lord under the hem of his chain mail, and upon contact he saw a flash of himself sitting in this very room, pen in hand sitting over a book, scribing furious at the pages. He looked up at the bookshelf. Did he actually write one of these books?

"Fascinating." Vivificus said, yawning. "I do believe, however, we're following goblins?" Treks stood beside him, nodding anxiously, his hand resting on his greatsword. The Dragonborn was obviously ready for a fight.

"This half of the room is all on the weave and weft of magic." Lafayette said, ignoring her fellow eladrin. "The Evolution of the Weave." She read off of her book. "And there are quite a number of spellbooks up here as well." She opened to a random page in the spellbook, and was shocked at the intricate spells filling the pages, spells she never even heard of during her studies. She glanced over her shoulder at the Deva, and seeing him distracted slipped the book into her bag. She wasn't sure if reading spellbooks would help her at all, her own magics came naturally, but she couldn't pass the chance of picking up some new tricks.

"O, we go?" Treks said, stepping forward. Orion glanced up from his book. "The more time we spend here, the longer we give the goblins to loot." Treks spoke draconic, his natural tongue, this time.

Orion was glad that he could speak draconic; his large friend was much more verbose when speaking his native tongue. Something about Common must be offsetting to Treks.

"Of course, I suppose I could always return to this place once we've taken care of our foes," the Deva said as he stood up and wiped some dust away. "Let us move on, and restore this tomb to one of peace." He said this on purpose to the group, hoping to bolster their spirits. They began walking across the library towards the oak double doors, the only way out.

As the barbarian eagerly pulled open the door, he was greeted by a group of goblins. A quick scan of the room also revealed a very intimidating woman. The ne'er do wells looked up at the group, Orion pulling out his hammer and Treks quickly unsheating his greatsword.

"There they are! Destroy them!" The woman screamed, pulling out a weapon of her own – a heavely enchanted Morningstar, made of glossy black metal.

"Perhaps we should take more care when throwing open doors?" Vivificus sighed, exasperated with his companions but still drawing his own weapon, prepared to fight viciously. And, of course, see what this woman was carrying on her. He couldn't deny the fact that looting had become easier since he met this group.

***

Azara smirked as her eyes sized up her opponents. She could not believe this group believed they could stand up to one of her power. They were clearly unorganized and unprepared for a fight. She would strike them down in the name of Bane before moving back to the task that her god appointed her.

The Deva and Dragonborn rushed forward, knocking goblins out of the way with their mighty attacks. Mace, shield, and greatsword swung wildly and the goblins did not stand a chance at the assault. Behind them, two women and a scarred elf started to move forward. These three looked puny in comparison to their muscular companions. Azara didn't have much faith in her goblin lackeys. "Goblins! Get in the library. Hold them there." She barked the order. The goblin's obeyed, fearing Azara more than they feared the intruders, as it should be.

"Deal with the goblins!" The deva yelled back to his companions. "Treks and I will handle their leader."

"Keep telling yourself that, sweetblood." Azara taunted Orion using the insult for any that contained celestial blood, raising her mace and easily deflecting Treks overhead swing.

She quickly jumped forward, throwing her shoulder into Treks causing him to stumble back and throwing her weapon forward with such ferocity that the deva barely got his shield up in time to block the attack. Orion grunted at the blow, and wondered if perhaps he underestimated this woman. Before he had time to contemplate this, Azara's second swing went underneath his shield and dove into his chest. There was a muffled explosion, and the Deva fell backwards and his head hit the stone floor. Orion heard Treks yell in rage, but could focus on little more.

***

Vivificus swung his sword in front of him, it glowed with mounting power as he slashed down through a goblin's pathetic shield. The beast looked terrified for a split second, before a second upward swing ended its life. The goblin behind it didn't hesitate, stabbing his dagger forward with all his might. Vivificus turned his body slightly, and the poor creature, having put all of his strength into his attack, couldn't prevent itself from stumbling off balance. As the goblin passed Vivificus, the elf swung his sword in an arc, tearing into the creature. He pursed his lips and scowled as he couldn't follow through in order to guarantee a kill. Before he could, he had to retract his blade to parry the spear of the third goblin rushing at him. This new threat grinned a horrific smile at him as it pulled its spear back for another lunge. Vivificus didn't know how many goblins had flooded into this room, but there did not appear to be an end to the tide of little beasts. While he was defending against one gruesome foe, he realized that the last goblin he injured was not quite out of the fight, yet. To make matters worse, the wretch was now behind him.

The elf was no novice to battle; he knew that he had no effective way to defend against both of their attacks. Luckily, where might would fail, magic would not. He was a swordmage. He held his sword hand up, conjuring some arcane wards with his off hand while going, and swung his sword over his head, glowing bright as it collected arcane energy. Soon, he could release that energy, engulfing himself and his enemies. He would emerge unharmed. His enemies would not.

Unfortunately, that was when he noticed Godric had dropped to her knees and was currently rummaging through her bags.

"Shoot shoot shoot! I was so not ready for this. Where are my components?" As the girl spoke to herself, she was oblivious to the goblin running towards her, sword out and drool dripping down the slavering creatures chin.

The swordmage sighed and glanced at the goblin rushing at him, the beast's spear pointed at his chest. He was sure that behind him, the other goblin was doing the same. He knew he could either protect himself, or save the girl. He did not have time for both.

***

Orion picked his head off of the ground, dazed and bruised, but alive. He saw Treks and knew that the fury in the barbarian ran deep. He had Azara on the defense, attacking her relentlessly. Azara was parrying the attacks without fail, but Treks was not giving her a second to switch to the offense. Orion jumped up to his feet and ran into the fray to help his friend, amazed by the near musical quality of the constant ring of sword on mace.

Azara saw the deva approach. "Bane will destroy you! All power to the Black Hand!" With that proclamation, she dropped to the ground and swung her legs out, sweeping Treks' feet from under him. He hit the ground and Orion didn't have time to slow his pursuit. He stumbled over the woman's body and landed on top of Treks, rolling off quickly, but unable to regain his footing.

Azara smirked and raised her Morningstar for the killing blow. Orion saw her raise her weapon, and suddenly there was a flash. He saw himself and the female Dragonborn from his earlier memory. This time, her name was clear in his head. Surina. They were both adorned with the platinum dragon Bahamut's symbol, and they were both engaged against a worshiper of Bane. This new mystery man was equipped with a massive axe and although he was fighting valiantly, he could tell that this memory was of a losing battle. The memory got hazy, he couldn't grasp the details, but he saw the aftermath: he was cradling Surina's broken body, sobbing over it, as Bane's follower ran off, unharmed.

He saw the Morningstar descend towards Treks, and screamed in anger.

He would not lose another draconic companion.

***

Lafayette was not oblivious to the predicament Godric was in, but she was unable to do anything about it. She saw the goblin sneaking up on her precious daughter, but before she had time to react, a trio of goblins stepped in front of her. Lafayette chuckled slightly. The fools were in the worst possible place, in between her and her daughter.

She raised her hands, in what appeared to be an act of submission to the goblins. The fools were proud of themselves, that they had neutralized the spellcaster so easily. But they were blind if they believed that a sorceress could so easily be defeated. Lafayette spread her fingers wide, and flames shot out of her palms, incasing her foes. They screamed, but Lafayette paid their burning figures no mind. She hurried past, towards her daughter, but before she made it to Godric's side, a dark figure fell off of the ceiling, barring her way. She rose her hands, preparing another burst of fire, when the goblin moved forward with alarming speed. Lafayette had to cut her spell short, falling back to avoid the goblin's blade. The sword nicked the bookcase behind her and sliced straight through it. Lafayette gulped, thinking of what would've happened to her if the blade had hit her instead.

The goblin came forward with another attack, and Lafayette dared not raise her wand in defense. She valued its magic too much to see it cleaved in half, but as she barely dodged the second blow, she knew she would have to do something soon. She dove deep into her memory, recalling every incantation she knew. Before she could think up a suitable one for the situation, she knew she had to throw an attack and quickly. A personal favorite of hers came to mind, being both quick and deadly. She chanted a couple of curt words, and lobbed a ball of acid forward at her opponent. Before it made contact, the goblin closed his eyes, and blended into the darkness completely.

Lafayette sighed. She hated things that could sneak up on her. She spun around, on the defensive, praying that no harm would befall her precious daughter.

***

Godric turned at the last second, seeing her foe descending upon her, but having no time to react, all she could do was raise her hands in a pitiful shield. Suddenly a jag of lightning flew over her head into the goblin. When the energy made contact, it materialized into a whip, wrapping around the goblin. Before Godric knew what was happening, the goblin was pulled across the room, next to Vivificus.

The scarred swordmage smiled at the druid. Godric watched the spear make contact with Vivificus' arcane barrier and deflected, but he wasn't prepared to defend two hits. The goblin behind him stabbed forward, and the sword went into the Eladrin's side. Godric screamed as Vivificus' fell forward, his lifeblood leaking out of him.

He heard Godric's cries of denial and it was the last thing he heard before he fell into the darkness.

Godric finally saw her pile of components, and grabbed a handful of pinecones. She threw them straight up in the air, praying to Silvanus. As they rose, the druid dove over the goblins to cover Vivificus' body, knowing she would have to protect it from harm if the eladrin to have a chance of survival. As the pinecones landed, they burst into flames, engulfing the room. Godric felt the flames singe her tunic.

***

As the flames exploded across the room, they blazed over Lafayette, causing no damage to her. It was easy for her to put up the necessary wards. The goblin she was pursuing, however, had no such defenses. The flames rolled across his body, revealing him as he fell off of the wall he was clinging to. He jumped to his feet and attempted to blend into the shadows created by the dancing fires, but this time, the sorceress was ready.

Lafayette raised her hand, snapping her fingers which conjured a snowflake, suspended in air. She blew against the flake, which caused it to explode into a wall of icicles. The individual pieces of ice flew forward, impaling the goblin to the wall. The sword fell from his hands as a trickle of blood ran down his cheek.

Lafayette snapped once more, conjuring another snowflake. This one however, instead of exploding into deadly ice transformed into water droplets, sprinkling the room and dousing the remnants of Godric's fire.

…Godric! Lafayette spun, relieved to see her daughter looking shaken, but alive. Vivificus, however, did not look so good. Lafayette ran towards her companions, hoping she could at least help stanch the flow of blood.

***

Treks saw the Morningstar approach his face, and tried in vain to get his sword up in time. It turned out to be unnecessary, for before the blow struck true, Orion dove over his friend's body, accepting the blow to his shoulder. Orion grit his teeth in the pain, and his arm went numb, his shield clattering to the ground at his side. He tucked his legs in, rolling over his shoulder up to his feet, spinning to face the woman.

"I'm impressed with your skills. But you cannot stand up to me." Azara said, raising her massive mace. Orion gripped his weapon with both hands, eyes darting to his shield and knowing he would never make it in time. He dove forward, striking at Azara quickly before she had time to react. She took the blow to her chest, it hurt, but she knew that she'd survive.

She saw however, that there was no time for Orion to get back to a defensive position. She struck out, but as she struck Orion grinned.

"Poor choice." He said. The blow hit Orion again, crumbling him and dropping the deva to the ground. However, as Treks sword slashed across Azara's back she realized that Orion was using himself as bait. She bit back a howl of pain, and spun to face the Dragonborn. These infidels would pay

She started to open her mouth, a cocky insult ready, but before she got the chance a vine wrapped itself around her leg and pulled her down to the ground. She glanced back to see the two women standing by the door way, both chanting, preparing spells. Behind them the scarred elf wasn't moving. Azara rolled away quickly, avoiding a slash from Treks.

She breathed heavily. She refused to lose; this would be her last defeat. Bane would not forgive her again. However, she was tired and from the state of the deva and the Eladrin, she had inflicted considerable damage to the group in this encounter. Time to leave while it was still a victory and heal her wounds, she decided.

"When you're ready to face me again, I'll be waiting." She turned on her heels and took off down the hall. She felt another vine try to pin her down and a lightning bolt crackle past her head, but before another attack could come she was gone.

She prayed Bane granted her the necessary tactics to win her second encounter with the group. She would not underestimate them this time.

***

"O! O!" Treks screamed, holding the deva in his arms.

Orion had a fleeting thought of irony – Treks was cradling his body in the same way he recalled himself holding Surina, centuries ago. Luckily, unlike the scene centuries ago, Lathander had blessed Orion. His vision was already clearing. Treks grinned happily at Orion and Orion was oblivious to the terrifying sight. To him, at this time, the Dragonborn's grin was a relief to see.

"Orion?" A voice timidly asked. Orion sat up to see Godric, biting her bottom lip nervously. "Vivificus is in bad shape. I did not mean for him to get hurt, he saved me and…" Orion raised his hand to cut her off.

Treks reached his hand out to the warlord, helping him to his feet. Orion could only hope that Lathander would bless him with the abilities necessary to heal his friend's wounds. As he pulled his pack off and began reaching for the necessary medical supplies, he thought that this part healer, part warrior life that he had awoken to this time was a strange one. At this point though, knowing that if it were not for him, Vivificus would not survive, he couldn't complain.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Why did you do it?" Lafayette demanded.

Vivificus looked up at the eladrin. She always had a fire burning in her eyes, but Vivificus would swear that the flames were leaping out at him this time. He silently cursed the sorceress; couldn't she have waited until he was healed? He was leaning against one of the bookshelves that survived their group, resting and recovering. Orion had helped his convalescence greatly. On one hand, Vivificus had to admit that the Lathanderite did know his herbs and remedies; on the other he cursed the fact that he owed the deva a favor. Orion, the fool, and the other companions were huddled around a campfire that Godric had started, but apparently the smoldering sorceress had made her way over to check up on him. How pleasant.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, I've done a lot of things in my life," the swordmage spat. Most of which I can't remember, the elf thought angrily as an afterthought.

"Why would you put yourself in harm's way in order to save my daughter?" Lafayette spat back with equal venom. She countered, "I've been watching you Vivificus. You may think no one notices when you slip a dead man's coin purse into your pocket or a shaman's ritual staff, but I have. Everything you've done since you've joined us has been to benefit yourself, this hasn't bothered me but you made one mistake. You involved my daughter. So I want to know. What angle do you have in saving Godric?"

At that point Vivificus was reminded of the goddess of magic, Mystra. Lafayette was stunning and dangerous, Vivificus was over matched if a fight started and he knew it. If only he had more time to rest.

Vivificus looked back at the three around the campfire. Treks apparently just said something humorous, because Godric threw her head back in laughter and even Orion managed a wry smile. Vivificus could barely stand looking at the deva. He sat so rigidly, unmoving, as if he could sit there for a thousand more lifetimes. It made him feel uncomfortable. But apparently it didn't bother Godric and Treks. They sat with him, joked with him, and listened to his orders while they fought side by side in battle. Didn't they see how pure, rigid and just inhuman he was? Vivificus hated to admit it, but Orion was shaping out to be the leader of their group, which would just make it harder for him to sway things his way.

As he studied Godric's face, he had a feeling of… pride? Why would he feel pride in this little shifter? She barely mastered her own weird brand of magic, he should feel distain or pity, but pride…?

He turned his attention back to Lafayette. "She, and you, owe me a favor now. I'm all about favors," he lied. Truth be told, he didn't know what came over him at that moment.

"You're lying. Tell me the truth." The angry elf responded without a second's hesitation. Flames now licked her fingers and her hair began to sway in the ever autumn winds of the feywild's untamed magics.

Vivificus hesitated, contemplating what to do and ultimately deciding to tell the truth. "Do you know I have amnesia?" He asked, pausing for an answer. None came. "Do you know what it's like, not knowing who you are or where you've been? I don't know why I saved your precious daughter, maybe she reminds me of someone I once knew."

Lafayette hesitated, her anger slipping away slightly. An awkward silence passed before she asked, "Have you ever looked for your home? Asked around in Cormantler for any who might know you?"

Vivificus didn't answer. Truth be told, he didn't. He was scared of what he might find out, of what his life might have been.

But he would never admit this to anyone else.

Lafayette waited, but when no answer came, she turned her back to the scarred elf. "Thank you," was all she said as she walked back, taking her seat by her daughter's side. Only then, when she was next to the one person she would trust with her life did she release the pent up magic and the pent up fear that the thought of losing her daughter had brought about. And only did Vivificus start to breathe a little easier.

***

After a short rest, Vivificus joined the group by the fire. "Feeling better?" Orion asked, concern barely crinkling his perfect forehead. The elf nodded curtly. "Are you ready to fight?" Orion asked again, getting another nod as a response.

Orion rose to his feet, and four sets of eyes of very different turned to him. There was hope, concern, admiration, and hatred. The deva hoped that Vivificus wouldn't end up being more trouble than he was worth. Orion had always remembered once being a general in King Dragonbane's army, two lifetimes ago, issuing orders to hundreds of troops. As he spoke, his companions noticed that his voice rang strong and true, with no sense of nerves. The oration shook them to the core.

"We now know the face of our enemy. We have seen her, and some of us have crossed blades with her," he nodded to the Dragonborn. "She is a strong opponent, there is no doubt about that, and her devotion to her fell deity is no doubt fueling her quest in this crypt. However, the next time we face her, we will be prepared. She held her own against Treks and myself, but with all five of us ready and her own goblin troops depleted, thanks to Godric's abilities," Godric held her head high, beaming at this, "she won't know what to do against our might." He looked each of his companions in the eyes, and then smiled. "Follow me if you wish to put this foe to rest. Let's show her what we are capable of."

He abruptly left the library, following the path that Azara had taken, Treks close by his side, asking him about battle strategies in Draconic. Godric scrambled, putting out her contained fire before leaving after them with her mother close to her side. Even the ever alert Lafayette did not notice the new gleaming sword on Vivificus' side as he left the room. Vivificus noticed the blade on the goblin that Lafayette battled before, and it was too fine of a blade to let rust in this tomb. It would serve him well in combat, of that he was sure. Even as they walked he braided the subtle veins of sword-magic into his new wicked blade. It would cut deep into his opponents, although whether his opponent was to be the Deva or the Banite, he hadn't decided.

***

"Is this another statue of Lathander, Orion?" Godric asked as the two of them stood before another marble statue.

"No." was the only response Orion gave. At the end of the hallway they walked through, they came into an open room. The room was only about 20 paces wide and contained only two statues on opposite ends of the room, looking at each other. Past the statues was another door leading to a similar narrow hallway. Orion would admit, from a distance even he would think that these statues were of Lathander, it only made sense, seeing as this was a tomb to his followers, but he could easily tell that was not the case.

The first clue was material. The statue on the left was that of a cloaked figure, hands outstretched as if reaching for something. The only part of the feminine face uncovered was the mouth, which was turned up into a smirk. It was carved of dark purple marble. Orion had no clue what deity this statue was depicting, and running through the pantheon of Lathander's allies helped none. No friends of the Dawnlord were viewed as a cloaked figure. What deep secret did this statue contain?

Godric ran her finger along the base of the statue. "There's something written here." She said. "'Give me something that was never yours and I'll give you something that was never mine'." She hesitated. "What was never ours?" She asked, baffled, turning to face the others. She noticed Vivificus walking the perimeter of the room, tapping on the stones. The other faces were just as puzzled as she was.

"Who's this of?" Lafayette asked reaching towards the other statue, not having an answer for her daughter's question. The statue was pewter gray and depicted a sincere bearded man dressed in heavy metal plate. A greatsword was strapped to his back.

The group turned, and this time Orion had an answer. "Kelemvor, Lord of the Dead."

"An evil god, here?" Lafayette asked surprised, quickly pulling her hand away as if burned, but Orion was already shaking his head.

"No, Kelemvor is more of a…judge. When you die, if you don't believe in any god, you go to his realm, the Fugue Plane. From there he decides where you spend your afterlife, based on your actions in this world." As if to accent Orion's point, Kelemvor was holding a scale in his hands, signifying the balance of good and evil. Orion wondered what verdict the Judge would pass on him this lifetime. He had dealt with Kelemvor personally in other lifetimes.

Unbeknownst to the group, one of the goblins survived Godric's fiery attack. While the group was recovering and making their plans, Pachulisk played dead and waited for the group to move on. He was about to dart up the stairs and save his own hide, when he realized that if Azara ever found him she would kill him for his cowardice. This was the motivation he needed to follow the group. If he could sneak up upon them and take one of the companions down, Azara was sure to reward him.

Or at the very least, she wouldn't kill him, which is what he was truly afraid of.

"There's nothing here." Vivificus said. "I've examined the room corner to corner; there are the statues and nothing more. Let's find Azara and finish this."

Godric and Treks nodded in agreement and started towards the exit, leaving Orion and Lafayette staring at the statues.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," the powerful sorceress started, "but isn't it odd that there would be statues of two different gods in a tomb of Lathander?" The Eladrin extended her hands probing the statues for latent magics.

"Indeed." The deva mused. "There must be some connection between the two, and the riddle that Godric read. If we could obtain something of Kelemvor's, it would be something that was never ours. Are we to remove the scale from his hands?"

While the duo contemplated, Pachulisk crouched behind the cloaked statue, dagger in hand. The deva and mage were inspecting the statue opposing him, while the other three were nearly out of the room. The goblin pulled his puny dagger out of its scabbard. It was impossible to think that he stood a chance against the party of five, but goblins aren't known for their intellect. He jumped from behind the statue, and closed the distance between himself and the unsuspecting companions with all the speed he could muster.

Lafayette, luckily, turned at the last second. "Look out!" she screamed, pushing Orion out of the way. Pachulisk swiped his dagger forward but hit nothing but the empty air where Orion stood seconds before. He changed his target to the next closest target, the eladrin, and was faintly aware of the Dragonborn rushing towards him. Even if he got lucky enough to kill Lafayette, he wasn't sure how he would stand against the seven foot tall beast.

Unfortunately for him, he never got the chance to find out. Lafayette spread her fingers wide and bursts of flame shot out of each of the gaps, engulfing the goblin, which had a second to contemplate the fact that he survived the druid's flames only to fall victim to the sorceress.

And that was the last thing poor Pachulisk ever thought.

As his charred body fell to the ground, Kelemvor's eyes flashed to life, and his scale that stood in perfect balance seconds ago suddenly tilted heavily to one side.

"What's happening?" Godric asked, timidly.

It all made sense to Orion in that moment. "He's doing what he does best. He's judging the goblin's soul." He didn't know much about goblins or their deities, but he hoped for a fleeting moment that someone would find pity on the creature's soul.

But that thought ended as abruptly as the judgment did. Kelemvor's eyes returned back to the lifeless stone and his scale readjusted itself, Pachulisk's trial was apparently at an end. As it ended, a panel slid back on the pedestal that Kelemvor stood upon.

Sitting inside the statue laid two ornate weapons. First was a stone dagger, which was beautifully crafted and contained the holy mark of Lathander, the setting sun, on the pommel. Treks was more drawn to the other weapon. It was a great two-handed sword, a true warrior's weapon! He moved forward, through his friends, and picked up the sword in his claws. He was amazed at how light it felt considering its size, and when he first held it he felt a chill flow through his body. To test out his new blade, he swung it forward, scraping against the stone wall and as it made contact, blue sparks flew out from the blade. As he finished his swing, the path this sword took on the stone left a layer of frost.

Treks liked this sword.

The rest of his companions barely noticed Treks and his new weapon. Vivificus had been proven wrong; there was a point to these statues. He hated being proven wrong, but he knew what he was to do with the dagger; and he knew that Orion would feel the need to discuss with the group whether it was a good decision. It was a conversation that Vivificus did not, frankly, want to sit through. He grabbed the dagger from its resting place and rushed over to the statue of the cloaked figure. Into her outstretched hands, he slid the ornate dagger.

As he did, the magic in the statue brought it to life just as its companion statue had. This time, her head lifted up, giving the group a better look at it, and causing Orion to curse.

"Shar, goddess of secrets and lies." He looked at Lafayette, who indeed knew who Shar was. She was surprised that there was a god of death here. Now, however, there actually was an evil goddess in this tomb. The deva looked sickened by the idea of Shar desecrating this holy place.

Shar's smirk seemed to become bigger as her panel opened. Vivificus rubbed his hands together excited, expecting to find more weapons that he could sell back in town, but instead a wisp of black smoke flew out of the statue and enveloped the scarred eladrin. Vivificus yelped in fear and brought up his magical wards. They were of no avail, the smoke sped through them without pause.

"V!" Treks yelled, running forward, drawing his sword.

Orion wrapped his arms around Treks, and shouted in draconic to get the dragonborn's attention. "Stop! Your sword would go right through that smoke and hit Vivificus."

As suddenly as the smoke flew out, it retreated into a new home, Vivificus' bag. Seconds after it settled into the thick leather satchel, the bag started rattling.

No one moved, afraid of what was going to happen. Vivificus slowly slipped his bag off of his shoulder to the ground, where it continued to shake. He grabbed his sword, and used it to slowly pull his bag open, and as soon as the opening appeared, the totem that Vivificus took from the goblin shaman fell out, rattling on the ground. The human skull that was topping this idol began to bite and click with uncontrollable intensity.

"You took that staff?" Godric asked, surprised and hurt. After the battle she commented on how elegant that staff was, and how it would complement her evocations greatly. Vivificus was the one who told her it would be wrong to take the staff from the dead. Now she realized that Vivificus didn't want to have to split his earnings with the group. How could anyone be that selfish, she thought.

Vivificus chuckled. The totem would've fetched him a decent price. Now he was wondering who would buy a possessed totem. He's sure whoever he could find would pay even more. Perhaps Jackie would be interested in this. He reached down to the rattling stick. "I'm going to call you Rattles." He said smugly. As he grabbed the base of the staff, the head suddenly reached around, something he would've said was impossible seeing as it was wooden and rigid, and the mouth of the skull bit into his arm. He screamed, dropping Rattles back to the ground, and it continued to vibrate across the room, a few drops of blood leaking from its mouth, giving the macabre idol an even more grotesque smile.

Orion rushed forward, looking at the bite wound. "How does it feel?" He asked, concerned for his companion.

Vivificus pulled his arm back, his ego bruised. "It's fine, forget it." Orion stared at the swordmage, doubting his answer, but eventually moved his attention back to Rattles. Vivificus stomped across the room, scooping up his bag on the way, and threw the bag over the demon stick. He slid the staff back into the bag, tied his bag closed, and threw it back over his shoulder. It continued to shake, but Vivificus ignored it.

"Now let's go," he said, annoyed.

"Wait." Lafayette said, looking deeper into the slot from which Rattles emerged. "There's something else in here." She pulled out of a piece of parchment and opened it up.

"What does it said?" Godric asked, excited. The last time her mother had found a magic scroll they were able to fly for a couple of hours. It was one of her favorite memories, one that would be engraved into her memories forever.

"I… don't know." The worldy mage answered. "It's written in Abyssal, the language of demons. It is a language I have neglected in my studies." The others, besides Vivificus, crowded around her as if doubting her words, but all agreed after a glance. If the langue was Abyssal or not they weren't sure, but they all agreed it was unreadable. Lafayette slid it back into her bag, hoping to find a translator after they returned to town.

As the group left the room, Vivificus inspected his new wound. It looked like a simple bite mark when Orion inspected it, but it was quickly puffing out and he felt a chill through his body. He almost said something to the deva, but knew that the cause of this wound was outside the deva's herbs and poultices.

He just hoped it wouldn't get any worse.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Vivificus was careful to stay slightly behind the rest of the group so that they would not notice his occasional grimace when pain shot up his left arm. The bite from Rattles was getting worse. The pain came in waves, never fully ebbing and always returning in a tide of agony. During the latest burst of pain the idea of amputating his own arm crossed his mind. Vivificus drew the sword he had claimed from the goblin, placing its wicked edge upon his upper arm. Luckily the pain became bearable before it came to that. If he decided to go this route, he would probably need to do it soon, before whatever curse was inflicting him spread to the rest of his body. For a brief moment, Vivificus wished that he could ask for help from one of his companions. He quashed that weakness quickly, and thought of amputation again as the pain ran rampant up his limb

He really hoped it didn't come to that. He also hoped that when it came time to fight he wouldn't be useless due to his injury. He hated feeling useless more than anything in the world.

The party came to a halt as they reach the ornate door at the end of the narrow hallway they were in. The door was made of the finest burnished bronze and depicted a new dawn in its ruddy surface. Orion motioned for silence, cutting off Lafayette midsentence, who was fretting over Godric. The sorceress glared, but held her tongue. What the cause of concern was, Orion wasn't sure. This was not the time to worry about it. The deva placed his ear against the door, listening for any sound from the other side. The group hadn't seen any trace of any living being in quite some time and Orion was confident that they were nearing the end of the tomb.

He wondered what follower of Lathander deserved such a grand burial. Who would he find buried here? And would he recognize them from one of his previous lives? These thoughts brought about mournful half remembered memories and also a fierce determination to see this through.

At this beautifully carved door, Orion heard a voice, unlike at the others they had encountered before. It was a low murmur, chanting some spell Orion could not recognize through the thick door. He was sure, however, that it wasn't any spell that he would appreciate. Perhaps Lafayette would recognize this foul sound, but his instincts screamed that there was no time.

He turned back to his group meeting each companions gaze, and whispered to them, "We are here. Beyond this door lies the enemy whom we have been hunting. We will finish this, here and now, and our mission will be complete." For Lathander, Orion thought as he prepared to burst through the door.

Treks didn't like the sound of what Orion was telling them. Their mission would be over? Where would he go from here? He wondered if any of his companions would want his company any longer when all was said and done, or if he was destined to be alone again. These darker thoughts shined an ancient rage deep in his chest. He would fight this battle and then fight for his friendship.

Vivificus had feelings so very opposite from the Dragonborn. He couldn't wait to be done with all of this. If he never saw another Deva, it would be far too soon. He would have to figure out a way to ditch the Dragonborn as well. That pathetic simpering fool was getting his nerves. Before he could finish his thoughts, his arm lit on fire once more.

Lafayette was excited; she had to admit she missed adventuring. Secretly admit it, that is, she could never admit that to any of her companions. . But she felt that adventuring was far too dangerous for Godric to be involved. When Lafayette looked into Godric's eyes, hoping to see her innocent little girl, she saw something much more… wild. It was clear that this mission was lighting a fire in her soul. Godric had no desire to revert back to her normal life with her mother whenthis was over. She was going to keep on adventuring, it gave her life purpose.

Of course, every plan hinged on them surviving their next encounter…

***

Azara never felt more in touch with her dark Patron then she did at this moment. She was still chanting her vile song, striking out with her Morningstar on each crescendo. She could feel the barrier weakening by the second. The Black Hand would be pleased.

The longer she chanted this depreciation to Bane, the more her magics changed her surroundings. The room she was in now was once a glorious room, full of sunlight despite the fact that they were deep in the ground. Flowers filled the room, both in vases and climbing up vines on the intricate columns that formed a central avenue through the room. Azara was disgusted by the state of the room when she first walked in. If she allowed herself to be distracted from her spell, she would be much more pleased by the fact that her dark energy was causing the roses to wither and stain the once pearly white marble that the room was carved from with streaks of ashy gray.

As the companions entered, Orion felt sick to his stomach when he saw what dark magic was doing to this holy place.

"You there!" He shouted, holding up his mace. "Your crimes end here."

Azara did not even turn to regard the deva, instead she chanted faster, smashing her Morningstar against the barrier once more. The sleek metal shined bright in the sunlight in this room, and upon contact with the barrier, ripples of energy came off of her weapon. Her work was more important than her life was. She would break into this tomb before these intruders got to her, she had no other choice. Retreating was not an option, it never was.

Treks was furious at this woman. Not for the same reason as Orion, although he wasn't happy that Lathander's tomb was being defiled, it didn't cause the rage he sought either. This was the woman who bested Orion and himself in combat; now here she was, not even giving the warriors the respect they deserved. By ignoring them, she insulted Treks in a way none had for years. Treks vowed that it would be the last mistake she made in her life.

Orion stepped forward, down the carpet that lead to the end of the room, passing two sets of armor that leaned against opposite pillars. Azara was standing in front and slightly above the group; there were five stairs before where she stood and five stairs past her, ending in a landing. On the top of the steps laid a casket. The top of it was open, although no one could see inside of it from where they were standing. However all could see the fact that the flowers that surrounded this grave were untouched by Azara and her spells. They were just as full of life as they had been before Bane's influence had ever entered this tomb.

Orion held his mace up to the Banite, and yelled down the hallway once more. "Turn and face us, woman."

"My name is Azara." She spit, insulted at Orion's way of addressing her. Her anger distracted her from her task. As she stopped her chanting to address the warlord, the magic in the flowers started to bring them back to life. "I am a Blackguard of Bane, and you will address me as such."

"You stand alone now, Azara. What chance do you have?"

"Alone?" She spit with fury. "You don't stand alone against me, Deva! You only feel confident with enough lackeys! What does that say about you and your weaknesses?"

Besides Azara thought to herself, I am never truly alone.

With that thought, the two sets of armors came to life, both drawing a sword from their scabbards and holding up the shields attached to their arms. They leaped out, swinging their weapons at the group. Treks and Vivificus quickly acted. Each parried the blows as the women started preparing their spells.

Orion was ahead of the skeletons when they attacked. Confident that his friends could handle these two enemies, he charged forward, running towards Azara.

Before he made it to her position, there was a distortion of dark magic, and a horrid stench poured from the ground. With a terrifying moan and a demonic tearing noise, the marble floor began to crack as humanoids poured from underneath the ground. With the moaning and scent of death, Orion knew them to be the lowliest undead, zombies. Orion cursed Azara's name as he smashed in the head of the nearest one with his mace. But he was surrounded and knew he would have to handle these new threats before he could face their creator.

Vivificus spun his blade around, easily parrying the blows of the armored figure. Between the gaps that he was cutting into the aged armor, he could see the bones of his enemy. These must be animated skeletons. This Banite was very powerful, he thought. Once the battle started, Vivificus pushed the pain of his arm back to some corner of his mind. He wasn't sure how long he could resist, but he knew what his role was to be in the coming fight, and he had to make sure that he could succeed. He needed to be on the winning side, it was his way of life. Deflecting another swipe from the undead, the swordmage saw a flash of magic as Lafayette completed a spell. He leaned to the side just in time to avoid the ice chunk that flew out of Lafayette's hands.

"Watch yourself, Lafayette!" the swordmage yelled.

"You watch yourself." The sorceress muttered under her breath before she started chanting the words to another spell, throwing a glob of acid at the same skeleton she had just attacked. The acid struck in the chest, causing the skeleton's armor to bubble slightly, but it didn't appear as either of the Eladrins were doing much more than aggravating the undead monster.

Treks and Godric were faring better than the elves. Treks was not simply parrying the attacks as Vivificus was. A fury was awakening inside of the Dragonborn, and he soon as the skeleton in the defensive. Add the fury of Godric's spells, and the poor skeleton never stood a chance. The magic in Treks new sword was flaring to life with every strike, each hit leaving a thin layer of frost across the skeleton's sword. It didn't take long for the frost to build up and when Treks bellowed a war cry and struck down with his sword, the skeleton's sword shattered in its hands.

Treks, ever the honorable Dragonborn, threw his sword to the side and leaped at the skeleton, tackling the creature and wrestling it to the ground with his monstrous hands. The mindless skeleton could not feel fear and fought back valiantly, stuck in stalemate with the barbarian. Draconic muscle pitted against animation sorcery.

Suddenly, right before Treks eyes the armor of the skeleton started to rust. The skeleton fell to the ground, legs kicking but unable to lift itself. The rust had frozen the armor in place, it was too much for the skeleton. It was frozen in a red iron prison. Treks turned to see the druid, holding on to a sprig of berries and smiling as the last of her spell left her lips.

"It worked!" She cried out, surprised at herself. She turned to help her mother and Vivificus, only to find the Eladrin duo in a fine state. Vivificus was parrying the skeletons attack, turning the skeleton ever so slightly so that its back was to the sorceress. Lafayette gripped her hands together, squeezing tightly, and when she pulled her hands apart a turquoise orb of arcane energy appeared in her hands. She threw it at her enemy; as the orb travelled the color changed, from red to green to violet, finally back to turquoise again as it struck her foe. Upon impact, the orb erupted with arcane forces, releasing the electric energy that Lafayette had prepared. The electricity coursed through the armor and into the skeleton, causing it to collapse to the ground, moving no longer. Either the magic had destroyed the skeleton badly beyond repair or disrupted the very foundation of Azara's animation. Given enough time Lafayette would love to test the spells, but they had a battle to win.

Vivificus breathed heavily as he surveyed the rest of the battlefield. The first thing he noticed was Treks and Godric, with their skeleton kicking futilely by their feet. He turned his attention to Orion, who was battling off an endless amount of zombies. Azara was oblivious to all the activity behind her, focused solely on whatever spell she was casting. At the end of the room, past the tomb that Azara stood before was another duo of armored skeletons, that Vivificus was certain she was bring to life if the need arose. As soon as the battle ended and Vivificus was planning his next move, the pain shot back to life in his arm. He bit his lip in pain, holding in a scream, and fell down to one knee.

"Are you alright?" Lafayette asked him, concerned, but the swordmage was already back on his feet.

"I'm fine." Vivificus said, eyeing up the battlefield. He had to get rid of this curse, but there was nothing to do until this battle was over. He knew what his next move was to be and he knew he had to get to Azara, but how to get past Orion and the horde of zombies?

Orion swung his mace once more, bashing another zombie to the ground. He was making progress in his march to Azara, but there were more and more zombies coming, crawling their way up from the ground to face the deva and he felt that by the time he made it to Azara, it would be too late. She would have found her way into the tomb and all that they have done here on this day would be for naught. He felt as if Lathander was speaking to him, telling him that it was his responsibility to stop Bane's influence here in this temple.

Suddenly, as if Lathander had blessed the warlord personally, Orion's body exploded with light. Astral splendor washed over the deva, blazing light striking into the zombies nearest to him and dissolving them back into the earth. The other zombies far enough away to avoid the attack shambled away, towards the rest of the companions. Orion was shocked, he never recalled channeling his god's light through his very body. Desperate times have always called for desperate measured. Lathander needed a champion, and Orion longed to answer.

Vivificus and Treks held up their swords, but Godric stepped in front of the two. "We'll take care of them, go and help Orion!" She yelled, pulling out her spell reagents. Vivificus started to open his mouth in protest, as pain shot through his arm once more. Godric did not know the condition Vivificus was in, but Godric's thought process was right, there wasn't time to delay. As he ran past the shifter, she was already throwing pinecones at the zombies, which exploded into flame midway. She smiled; this attack was by far her favorite to use on her foes. The natural fires seemed to almost enjoy feasting upon these mockeries of human flesh. Returning dead things to their proper plane as fertilizers in the great balance of the natural order excited Godric.

Lafayette fell behind Godric, standing back to back with her daughter, throwing an orb of acid at the nearest zombie. Unlike her daughter, she did not have an arcane attack she favored. Instead, she unleashed the full fury of the elements upon the zombies. One zombie approached her and she quickly melted its features with a fan of flames. As another approached, she channeled lightning into an arching spear. Fire, ice, lightning and acid were all flying at the zombies, and the poor creatures didn't stand a chance against the combined power of mother and daughter.

Orion stepped forward and Azara took pause of her ritual to face the deva, holy light shining brightly through his eyes and mouth. His chest was also shining brightly, as if his heart was so full of light that it could not contain itself anymore. Azara felt as if the light was burning her soul, as if Bane had finally decided that she was no longer worthy and had deserted her. She grabbed her Morningstar, knowing that if she did end the deva now, all of her plans would fall away.

"Azara!" Orion yelled, lifting his mace. "You have chosen the wrong path. Lathander has chosen me to rid this temple of the influence of the Dark Lord. You can choose to walk out of her now with your life and never return. This choice is yours, make the right one!" Azara did not response, simply sneering at the deva. "So be it." Orion concluded, lifting his mace and running at the Banite, when suddenly a whip made of arcane energy wrapped itself around his ankle. It pulled back, sweeping Orion off of his feet. As the deva hit the ground, his astral light diminished, leaving Orion in his normal state, turning to look up at Vivificus. The swordmage smiled triumphantly, he had wanted to do that for hours. Watching that paltry light show fade from Orion's chest made the wait worth it.

"Vee, what doing?" Treks asked, surprised. To respond, Vivificus held up his sword in the air and willed the arcane energy to fly off of it. It hit Treks in the chest, sending him flying backwards, the back of his head striking a pillar. He slumped down to the ground, his consciousness slipping away. Vivificus chuckled to himself, thinking it would have taken more to knock that thick headed oaf out.

As Vivificus stepped over Orion, approaching Azara, the deva noticed what was hanging around the swordmage's neck – the necklace of Bane that the goblin shaman they had faced earlier was wearing. Orion opened his mouth to yell, but couldn't find his voice. How could Vivificus betray them? Was he a worshipper of Bane this whole time? Orion felt lost, not knowing what to do. Lathander, what should I do, he begged silently, in vain.

Vivificus knelt before Azara. "Bane sent you?" She asked him. He kept his eyes down, not meeting Azara's gaze. "You've made the Dark Lord proud." She told Vivificus, who managed a smile at that comment. "Come now; help me bring down the protective wards around this tomb." The last thing Vivificus saw before turning to his task was Lafayette's look of pure rage and a single tear rolling down Godric's soot stained cheek.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"What are we supposed to do now?" Godric sobbed hysterically. Vivificus had saved her live just hours before; his betrayal was weighing heavily on Godric. The poor druid went from destroying waves of mindless zombies by her mother's side to kneeling on the ground comatose, at a loss for what to do next.

"We do what we agreed to do, Godric." Lafayette responded curtly. "We need to keep these zombies away from Orion and Treks. We need to stop Azara." And Vivificus, the sorceress added silently. She couldn't bring herself to say those words aloud to her daughter. Godric trusted so easily, it would break her heart even further, something Lafayette would do anything to avoid.

***

Orion looked up at Vivificus, who was chanting the same spell as Azara, striking in unison with his blade. With their combined strength, the deva feared it would not be long before the last wards were destroyed. Azara was going to get what she came for, all because of Vivificus treachery. Orion turned to see Treks, who was rolling over slightly, fighting to stay conscious after Vivificus' surprise attacks. He needed to rally the Dragonborn once more, Orion needed Treks' strength.

"Why, Vivificus?" Orion asked, turning his attention back to the swordmage, struggling to stand. He knew that he had the necessary materials in his pack to mend his wounds, but he couldn't find the strength to dig them out. His spirit felt broken.

"Why not?" was all Vivificus gave for a reply, without even bothering to turn to address the deva properly. The traitor could not even deign to look the deva in the eyes, such cowardice must be stopped, Orion vowed.

***

Lafayette saw a couple of zombies swarm in Godric's direction. This would not do, at least for now, her daughter was mentally out of the fight. The stupid rotten undead clambered on knuckles and broken cubicle's towards the kneeling druid. Poor choice. It fell to her to keep the zombies away from her precious Godric. The sorceress knew that she needed a spell that would take care of multiple zombies at once, but she would never risk hitting Godric. Unfortunately, most of her favored abilities focused on destruction, not discretion. She raised her arms, recalling a spell that she had seen flipping through a spellbook earlier in the day. The library in this tomb may just provide the solution to such a problem. Although she did not learn from a book as most wizards did, she had to trust her innate abilities to conjure this spell for her.

She waved her arms, praying to any god who would listen to her plea. Flames shot out from her palms, spiraling around Lafayette's body. Any who looked at the eladrin simply saw a swirling inferno. The flames flew from her, striking the nearest zombie. Lafayette waved her palms, directing the arcane fire. It flew over Godric, who was oblivious to what was occurring around her, striking the undead creeping up behind her. A flick of Lafayette's wrist caused her attack to spiral once more, changing direction and protecting the druid once more. It was as if Godric was surrounded by a brilliant whirlpool of molten heat. Lafayette breathed a sigh of relief. The flames were becoming easier for her to direct the longer the spell went on. She just had to hope it was enough for Godric. Another zombie lunged, looking to feast on her daughter, but another wave of fire scorched it to ash. Thank you Corellon, Lafayette exhaled for the first time since the undead appeared.

Godric felt no heat, even surrounded by her mother's barrier. Her mother had saved her, nos she needed to save Orion. Godric noticed the deva lift himself up and collapse back on the ground again. The druid was at such a loss of how to help, there was no way through the horde of zombies. She placed the palm of her hands against the earth, whispering words that leaped to her mind, not sure what she was saying. Her hands glowed green with life energy and the light traveled into the ground. It moved across the floor, avoiding the zombies that stood in its path. As the light travelled, patches of grass and moss started springing to life in its wake, covering the stone tiles. Another piece of the marble cracked open as another lost soul started clawing its way up from the ground. Godric's spell traveled straight through the zombie, who moaned in pain at the unbridled life energy that this light held. It fell back, not moving, and the green glow kept traveling to its goal – Orion.

The grass patch reached Orion. The primal spirits that inhabit all things sprung from the earth causing vines spurt out of the stone, engulfing Orion's body. Orion looked up at the vines, and felt their life energy seeping into his body, reenergizing him. As a man of faith he had never put much stock in nature spirits, but he knew one young girl who was willing to lend this broken down fool some help.

Time to deal with Azara, Orion thought, as the vines separated front of him. He leaped forward, mace raised and ready to strike. He swung at the back of Azara's head, knowing that the Blackguard was too distracted, not ready for a sneak attack. A smile started spreading on Orion's face…

…and his mace struck Vivificus' sword. His arm shook and went numb from the strength of the parry; Vivificus must have enacted a strength spell. Orion cursed under his breath, the curses were so colorful, even Bloody Jackie would have blushed.

"Not today, deva." Vivificus taunted, kicking Orion in the chest and knocking him back down the steps. Godric cringed, but knew that she had played her role. She reluctantly tore her eyes away from Orion to assist her mother in fighting the zombies. As she stood the fiery maelstrom began to fade. That won't do, Godric thought. She smiled the same confident way her mother was fond of and began a fire spell of her own. She tossed some ashes at the nearest pack of undead and shouted, "Bellas!" A raging wildfire began and ate through a dozen zombies like kindling. Even her mother couldn't scoff at such destructive display.

Vivificus turned to Azara, looking for direction. "Go. Don't show them any mercy." She told her new recruit. Vivificus hurled himself down the stairs, lunging at Orion who was quick in jumping back to his feet. Orion struck out at the first chance, but it was child's play for Vivificus to parry the attack. The swordmage blocked the attack and slashed weakly towards Orion, which the warlord pushed aside with his shield.

Vivificus flourished in duels. It is how swordmages are trained in Cormanthyr. He fought better and Orion knew it. The deva wasn't sure how he would pull this off.

"Was this a set up from the beginning or did you just decide to betray us?" Orion yelled, swinging wildly. His mace crackled off a barrier of silver life, the elven magic that served Vivificus as a shield.

Vivificus stepped to the side and the attack swung by him. Vivificus eyes flickered towards' Orion's unprotected flesh, but he let the opportunity to attack pass him by. "I'm simply getting myself in the best position possible," was Vivificus reply. The swordmage ducked underneath Orion's next swing, "Nothing personal." Then there was no more time for words.

***

Treks lifted his head, seeing stars and trying to figure out what was going on. He saw his friends fighting, and his heart sunk. He had dreamed that this group was going to last, that he found himself a family, but it appeared that he had fooled himself once more. Just from his quick glance, he knew the eladrin had the advantage. Orion was going to lose if Treks did not get up!

He glanced to Lafayette and her daughter. They were fighting valiantly and had destroyed or contained most of Azara's undead minions. They were still by the door, and Treks knew that if thing went awry they at least would be able to escape. Treks could probably make his way back there and have an escape route as well, but he wasn't thinking of himself. All he could do was stare at Azara, and the longer he looked at her, casting her spell, caring not what was happening behind her, the more he convinced himself that she was to blame for everything that was happening.

He stood to his feet, hesitantly, regaining his balance. He lifted her greatsword, enacting the magic in it, and charged at Azara.

Once in his childhood, he had been hunting with the rest of the young ones from his tribe. No one liked him, but he was the strongest so they brought him along to carry home the kills. They were on their way back to camp when the scent of a dead deer had brought a hunting Drake upon their team. The way the great lizard had raged and killed five warriors in the matter of moments fueled Treks' attack.

This time, she heard the attack coming. She turned, parrying Treks' blow. The strength of the attack caused her to slide backward, but she kept her footing. "Fool!" She screamed as she started to chant the words to a different spell.

Treks felt his body start to stiffen, but the barbarian screamed, pushing the intrusion out of his body. He swung forward again, and Azara looked scared. She had not expected her magics to fail, but she still managed to bring her Morningstar into a defensive position. Treks did not relent, and struck forward again. Each blow either knocked the Blackguard back or put a crease in her fine armor. Treks' could practically smell her blood. The kill was getting closer and closer. This woman, source of all his anguish in his life, would pay.

He would kill her. Of that, he was sure.

***

Orion's arms ached as much as his heart did. Everything was going wrong. He just hoped that Lafayette and Godric could make it out of here, even if he perished down here with Treks.

As that thought crossed his mind, Vivificus' sword expulsed arcane energy. Orion was parrying attacks best he could, but he had no defenses for this attack. He should have recalled that the swordmage could use magic as a weapon as well as a shield. The energy struck him square in his chest, causing the warlord to stumble, shield clattering to his side, leaving Orion looking up at Vivificus. Over his shoulder, he heard Azara and Treks battling for their lives. Hopefully, Azara would die before Vivificus got there to help his new master.

"You win swordmage." Orion said, defeated. "Finish it."

Vivificus looked down at the deva with a look of pure disgust as he raised his arm. His arm flung forward, throwing his sword out of his hand like a javelin. Orion closed his eyes, knowing he was at peace with Lathander, and waited for death to come. He wondered if Lathander would be surprised to see him again so soon.

***

Azara knew that this Dragonborn had the upper hand in the battle. She did not fear him, she had bested him before, but the fury in his eyes told her that something had changed. She could barely keep up defensively, let alone find an opening to make an attack of her own.

He fought with strength like nothing she had faced before, but he did not take in account her cold calculations. Treks was putting all of his energy into these attacks, and he was quickly losing steam. He over swung his next attack, and Azara saw her opening. She swung, her Morningstar going in, and Treks didn't think he would be able to defend himself quickly enough.

But as sudden as her attack started, it stopped. Treks looked at her confused face, a trickle of blood dripping from the side of her mouth. Her head lowered, and Azara saw the sword that had protruded through her chest. The barbarian looked over her shoulder at Vivificus' empty hand and Orion's look of shock. Vivificus smiled as he enacted the magic in his sword. It pulled free from the gory wound in Azara's chest with a gross pop, returning like a dog to Vivificus' hand.

"Go ahead Treks. Finish her." He told his companion.

Treks looked at Azara, who had stumbled down to her knees. She was looking up at him, fear in her eyes, but being the warrior she was she didn't beg for her life. Treks struck down quickly, and the cold of his sword was the last thing that Azara felt, the cold and the fear that her failure would lead her to an even darker Hell than Bane's.

***

With Azara's dark magic gone, the zombies stopped clawing their way from the ground. It took little effort for Lafayette and Godric to finish off the remaining pitiful creatures. Each enacted blasts of fire to clear the room. As the last spell left Lafayette's lips, she turned and marched down the hallway, arcane energy still tingling down her arm. Godric hurried, running after her mother.

"We might not see eye to eye…" Vivificus said, as he sheathed his sword. "…but give me some credit." With those words, he held out his open hand out to Orion.

The deva hesitated slightly before reaching out and grasping Vivificus. The eladrin pulled Orion up to his feet as Lafayette reached them. Vivificus turned to regarding the women, and Lafayette struck out, slapping Vivificus across the face. She released a spark of lightning that caused a few of Vivificus' hair to stand on end.

Godric screamed. "What are you doing?" as Orion stepped in between them.

"Lafayette, it was a ruse. He helped us kill Azara." The warlord explained, thinking that Lafayette did not see what had happened.

"If I hadn't known that," Lafayette explained calmly, "I would have killed him before I approached. That was for making Godric cry. Don't ever think about doing that again." She said to Vivificus.

Vivificus couldn't hold back his chuckle, as he turned his back to Lafayette. He walked away from the group, keeping his back to them, but the smile on his face was genuine.

Godric approached Azara, shuddering slightly as she passed the dead body. Orion placed a consoling hand on her shoulder. "It had to be done." The deva explained. Godric nodded, knowing his words to be true.

"I wish we could have at least gotten nearer to the tomb." The druid said, looking longingly up the stairs. The mystery was too much for her. She absently took a step forward…

…and walked right through the area where Azara had been stopped. She turned back to Orion, looked for answers, but Orion looked as confused as she was. He stepped forward as well, easily walking to Godric's side. There was a faint buzz of powerful magics but then the very air on the other side tasted fresh and the light was pure and bright.

"Mother, look!" Godric yelled, ecstatic. The other three companions turned to regard the duo, and Treks excitedly ran up the steps, only to crash headfirst into the same barrier that prevented Azara entry. He stumbled back down the stairs, crashing onto his back. Lafayette shook her head at the dragonborn's restlessness, and calmly walked forward with her hand in front of her. She made contact against the wall that had allowed her daughter entry.

"Apparently, dearheart, Lathander judges you worthy of approaching his tomb." She smiled at her daughter, knowing in her heart that Godric was more pure than she was. She had to make some tough choice in her hundreds of years of life, but she had few regrets, especially looking at her smiling daughter. Everything I do is for you, my cherished one, Lafayette thought.

Godric hesitated for a second, holding eye contact with her mother, before ultimately deciding to approach the tomb with Orion. Everyone was so focused on Orion and Godric that they missed Vivificus, silently clutching his shoulder grimacing in pain.

Orion and Godric reached the top of the stairs, and looked into the tomb at the peaceful face of an elderly woman. She was dressed in a glorious white robe, her tomb decorated with blooming roses. The spell which caused the sunlight to fill the room seemed focused on her body, the light made her look as if she was glowing. She had a small smile on her face. Godric knew that she died with that smile on, but to her, it looked as if the smile was her gratitude of expelling Azara from this holy place.

"Who do you think she was?" Godric asked Orion quietly.

"I know not." Orion responded simply. "I wonder what Azara wanted with her."

Godric wondered the same thing. She had half expected the tomb to contain riches beyond their wildest dreams, but it was just this woman in… "wait!" Godric exclaimed. She reached into the tomb, hesitantly, and pulled out a rolled parchment that was hiding among one of the folds in the priestess' robes. Godric unrolled it, and Orion and she were staring at a scroll similar to the one that they had found earlier in the temple.

"Abyssal." Orion said, disapprovingly. "It's a different page than the one we found before."

"What do we do with it?" Godric asked. "Do we… keep it?"

Orion hesitated. Stealing from a priestess of his religion was blasphemy. However, "Do you think the church of Bane will leave her in peace?" The deva asked. "I want this priestess to get the eternal rest she deserves." A slight pause, "I think Lathander allowed us to pass for a reason. I think he wants us to protect this scroll for him."

Godric nodded her approval, and turned back to face her mother. Lafayette looked up at her beaming face, the sorceress' heart full of love, but grew concerned when Godric's smile turned to a open mouth of shock. She screamed, pointing behind them. Lafayette turned, ready to attack whatever thought it could sneak up on them with the last powerful spell she had, but felt like screaming herself when she saw Vivificus lying on the ground. His pack, the one that he stuck the accursed Rattles in was shaking wildly next to his body. The eladrin was staring at the ceiling unblinkingly, and there was a giant purple welt on his arm where the spirit had bit him.

Lafayette hurried to his side, but Treks made it there first. The Dragonborn knelt over, cradling Vivificus. "Vee!" Treks yelled, causing Vivificus to flinch and blink. "You no die, cuz then you dead and Treks miss you. And O would miss yelling at you."

"Wha-what's happening?" Vivificus asked, painfully, curse that foolish Dragonborn, if that was the last thing he heard he would haunt him forever.

"We need to destroy this spirit! Its existence is harming you!" Lafayette said, grabbing Vivificus bag. She nearly reached her hand in when she hesitated, not wanting to get bitten herself. She turned the bag over, dumping its contents on the ground. The shaman staff shook across the floor, mouth snapping, looking for something to dig its teeth into.

Vivificus looked at the staff, thinking about how if he had never stolen it, this may have never happened. He turned back at the tomb, watching Orion and Godric walking through the invisible barrier that stopped him, and a crazy idea came into his mind. This last act may save or kill him.

He reached out with his good arm, carefully grabbing Rattles by the base of the staff. Lafayette tried to smack his hand away, screaming about how irresponsible he was being, but he tuned her out. He faced towards the tomb, and threw with all of his remaining might. The staff spun around, mouth still clattering, hitting the barrier right beyond Azara's body. The staff fell to the ground, but the spirit kept going, itself hitting a second barrier causing it to stop a few feet before the tomb. The spirit shrieked, bouncing between the two barriers, unable to escape. The staff's inherit "goodness" had allowed the spirit to enter, but now it was trapped.

Vivificius leaned back, closing his eyes and sighing in relief. The pain didn't stop, but it was no longer getting worse. He glanced at his arm. The bruise was still there, it looked as if it was throbbing, but he swore that he saw it shrinking before his eyes. With any luck, it would be better within a couple of hours, maybe less if the deva could get around to looking at it.

Godric walked up the staff that had once housed Rattles, and picked it up. She turned back to face Vivificus, opening her mouth, but snapping it closed right away. Luckily for her, Vivificus picked up on her unasked question.

"Keep it Godric. It caused me more trouble than it was worth."

Godric smiled brightly, inspecting every inch of her new weapon. "Did you find out the word to cause it to start billowing smoke?" She asked excitedly. Vivificus shook his head and Lafayette knelt by her daughters side, trying a few commonly used words of power.

"Orion?" Vivificus said to the deva. "I think you should take Azara's Morningstar."

Orion hesitated, turning to face the weapon by Azara's side. The light was hitting it at the right angle to cause it to glint. Orion had to admit it was a wondrous weapon. But could he really loot the dead?

"Trust me, it's better to use it than to let it rot down here." Vivificus said, sensing the deva's concerns.

Orion thought about the swordmage's words and found himself, oddly enough, agreeing. He grabbed the weapon, and turned back to his companions. As he picked up the cold iron weapon, he felt a feeling of _righteousness_ flash through his arm.

"We did well here. We overcame major obstacles and defeated our foe. Let us head back to the town, Lady Kara needs to hear about our deeds in this place and what we have learned. I know not what these scrolls say, or why Bane would be interested in them. Come, my friends."

With those words, Orion left the room, Treks and Godric quick to follow. Lafayette chuckled, some things never change, she thought to herself. She started to leave, glancing over her shoulder at the doorway to see Vivificus pull a gemstone out of Azara's bag. He held it up to the light, smiled, and slipped it in his pocket. As he turned to leave the room, he saw Lafayette watching him, which caused him to stop in his tracks; he smiled at her and showered an empty palm, using some sleight of hand to try to hide his larceny.

No, some things will never change, Lafayette thought with a smile, departing the room, with Vivificus close behind her. As they exited, Godric whispered "lakilea", the elven word for victory. The staff released its blinding magic, causing everyone to laugh. Their hearts were at ease, the fight was won.

***

Hours after the companions departed, a pale woman entered tomb. The woman was wearing a long flowing robe, pure black, hood up over her head. She took care of her steps, staying in the shadows as best she could, avoiding Lathander's light. She approached Azara's body, shaking her head in disgust.

"The Banite failed us, mistress." A man's voice said from behind her.

The woman nodded absently, she expected little more from a follower of Bane. She clutched the black disk that hung around her neck. The disk was chased with a purple amethyst, holding it made the woman relax. As her knuckles turned white from her grip, she watched Rattles bouncing around, shrieking and trying desperately to leave.

She waved her arm, speaking divine words so vile that the closet barrier vanished. Rattles flew around the room, excited to leave, but the woman's voice stopped the spirit in its tracks.

"The goddess has no further use for you, spirit. Return to your own plane." With that, she spoke the spirit's true name and with a pitiful whine, the spirit diminished, vanishing from the room. The woman continued her journey, marching up the stairs and staring into the ancient tomb. She grit her teeth in anger as she stared at the woman.

"It's gone." She said simply, turning her back and marching down the stairs. "We must return to our temple and make further preparations. Prepare a scrying spell." She ordered as the passed her servant in the room. "I want to know who has my scroll."

End of part I.

Coming soon: Part II: The Dragon Queen


	9. Chapter 9

Part II: The Dragon Lady

Chapter 9

When the companions left Lathander's tomb, they were surprised to find themselves walking into a chilly spring night. They had been below ground long enough that they had lost all track of time. The heavy fogs had begun to roll in through the moorland. Godric hurried over to the spot where she hid the horses, relieved to find them still secured and unharmed. She chuckled when she inspected them closer, the horses had begun to eat part of their camouflaging blind. "Silly feed bags," Godric teased, "fat lot of good a mouthful of leaves would have done you if goblin's had found you!" While the druid was doing this, the rest of the group conferred on what their next step would be.

"We cannot travel tonight." Lafayette stated as she wrapped her silken violet cloak around herself, in order to protect herself from the night's chill. "We should camp here for now and make our way back to Hulburg in the morning." The sorceress summoned the simplest of fire spells to burn the air around her fingers, keeping herself warm and lighting the night briefly.

Vivificus was already shaking his head while the sorceress was still finishing her thoughts. "Azara may have allies coming. It is far too risky for us to stay here." The swordmage did not care to meet any other allies of Azara seeking revenge. Little did he know how right he was, that her partner was on her way to the tomb as they spoke. Vivificus slipped his hand to the holy mark of Bane hanging from his neck. He had thought about removing it after the fight, but something halted him. Bane cherished winners and practicality, things that Vivificus relished as well. Had the swordmage found his calling?

"Treks tired," was all the dragonborn added to the debate before he walked away to assist Godric. He liked Godric, her positive attitude always managed to cheer him up. He trudged through the freezing mist without a care, cold had never bothered Treks.

Orion understood both of the eladrin's points. They were easy prey here in front of the tomb, but who knew what trouble they would run into on the road back to the Harmarch? He tried desperately to think of their travels and whether or not they had passed any hospitable areas nearby. He shook his head, thinking that in all of his lives he would never become a woodsman.

Before he came up with a solution, Godric rode out of the brush on the back of one of the horses. Treks followed behind the young druid on foot, holding the harness of the second horse. "Let's get going!" Godric exclaimed. She led the horse with only her hand on his mane and a few whispered whinies.

"Going where?" Orion shouted after her, but Godric was already reaching a canter with her horse.

"Just trust me!" She yelled over her shoulder at the deva.

Treks helped boost Lafayette onto the awaiting horse and the companions hurried after the shifter. Centuries of lycanthrope blood allowed Godric to see by Selune's light. After a quarter hour of hurried travel, the four stumbled upon the druid setting up camp. She had found a peaceful grove, hidden from any passersby. There was a babbling brook leading further into the forest and a duo of tall stones which gave Godric the perfect place to start her campfire, as it would hide the fire from any who were not looking for it. Lafayette was stunned by her daughter's abilities. Her perfect daughter had found the perfect place to rest and was setting up a perfect campsite. It reminded Lafayette of their home back in Cormanthyr, with its sunny little garden that Godric had planted. She would give up all of her magical abilities to return to that happy place.

The crescent moon shined down as the sorceress walked to her daughter, leaving the men to set up the tents. "How did you know of this place?" she asked, positive that they had not travelled this way earlier in the day.

"I asked a squirrel." Godric said, plain as day as if it were an obvious answer.

Lafayette searched for a response as Godric turned back to tend the fire. With a resigned chuckle, Lafayette turned to help Vivificus' set up his tent. She knew she would never understand her daughter, but from a quick glance over her shoulder she knew that she would never love another the way she loved Godric.

***

An hour after camp was set; Lafayette had to help Treks escaping from a collapsing tent. Shortly after that, she then had to stop the Dragonborn who was trying to rush the tent with his sword drawn, screaming how he had to "kill bad tent." Finally, the sorceress found time to approach her daughter with a heavy heart.

"What are you planning on doing when we get back to Hulburg?" Lafayette asked quietly.

Godric looked up at her mother, not surprised by the question. She knew when Lafayette volunteered to stay up with her for first watch that the unasked question that was plaguing Lafayette's mind was soon to come up. Godric picked her words carefully, trying hard not to provoke a fit of rage from the sorceress. Her mother would never harm her, but Godric would not see this peaceful glen destroyed by Lafayette's explosive temper.

"Well, Orion told me earlier that he had other missions that the town needs accomplished. The tomb was just the first one that he wanted to complete, as it was a 'travesty against our gods'," Godric mimicked the deva's dry tone, breaking Lafayette's cold stare. "But I was hoping that when he goes to face his next quest, whether it be a strike against the orcs that are building their numbers to the north of us," Lafayette was surprised that Godric knew of the orc threat to the town, but didn't say anything, "or some other quest, whatever, I was hoping that he would have the need for my talents."

Godric waited for her mother to respond, but Lafayette sat by the fire, staring into it silently. "What are your plans, mother?" Godric asked hesitantly.

"Ideally, returning to our house and enjoying the life that I have been building for you. However, what good would that life be without you?" Lafayette sighed; knowing that nothing short of taking Godric prisoner would prevent the druid's need to adventure. Even tying her up however probably wouldn't work, Lafayette could just imagine the druid turning into a mouse or some other little animal and scurrying away. "So I suppose I'll have to ask Orion if he would take this brash eladrin into his services." She turned to face Godric, not surprised to see the biggest smile on Godric's face. The shifter jumped forward, wrapping her mother in a tight embrace.

"I love you, mom." Godric said happily.

"I love you too dearheart. You can ask Orion if we may accompany him when our shift is over." With that, the sorceress spun around, removing her cloak. With a flourish, she wrapped it around her daughter's shoulders. "The night is brisk, keep warm dearheart." She kissed the druid on the forehead before turning to tend the fire.

With that, the druid turned to look at the deva. He was standing, not sitting, over by the tents, eyes wide open, unmoving. He claimed that this was how a deva rested. When Orion was telling this, Vivificus was obviously shaken by this, the deva disturbed him so much that it amused Godric.

"Do you think he can see us?" Godric whispered, staring at Orion.

"Don't stare Godric, it's rude." Lafayette mothered. "Get some rest, I'll finish our watch."

Godric turned away, per her mother's request, and missed the slight smirk appear on Orion's face. The deva was completely aware in his rest and was listening to the conversation, not because he was trying to eavesdrop, he did not have a choice. He felt as though he would remember these companions for many lifetimes.

***

Vivificus and Orion, each only needing four hours of rest, took the second watch. Lafayette sat cross-legged next to her daughter, meditating the way eladrin do. Godric was snoring contently, her head resting on her mother's lap, occasionally barking slightly in her sleep.

Vivificus poked a stick into the flames, adjusting a log to keep the flames burning brightly, and turned to check on Orion. The deva made some excuse to why he was not able to sit by Vivificus. Orion was currently down by the brook, wading through the water and washing himself. Vivificus turned back to the fire, glad that the deva was the one who came up with an excuse. Vivificus was wondering how he was going to get away from Orion during these four hours.

It wasn't so much that he hated the deva, indeed he respected him as a leader and a combatant. It was just that his belief in justice and what is right was too rigid for the swordmage. The deva was just too caught up in these foolish ideals which made him hard to manipulate… or even stand.

A strong breeze came through the camp, ruffling the tents and nearly extinguishing the campfire. Vivificus' first thought was to aid the flame, but he stopped in his tracks, paying attention to the wind. After the one strong gust the wind turned back to the way it had been blowing.

Which was in the opposite direction of the gust, something had changed the way the wind had been. What could it be?

He acted as if he was concerned over the fire, but his eyes were scanning the trees, looking for some form of movement. He found himself actually wishing that Orion was not standing so far away. There was no way to alert the deva to what was going on without alerting their intruder that someone was near. The swordmage wondered for a second if Treks' snoring would scare the intruder away, since his snores sounded more akin to a wild beast.

Unfortunately, Vivificus could see nothing. He settled back into his seat slowly, on edge of another attack.

Nothing came though.

Vivificus was not sure how much time had passed. He was so focused on looking for an intruder that he was shocked to turn and see the brook was gone, no trace of Orion or the water was left. He silently cursed, wondering where the deva had disappeared to. What could banish the waters? A powerful nature spirit? Vivificus briefly thought he had seen something like this before and found himself cursing him amnesia.

The sun was just beginning to come over the horizon, illuminating the grove slightly. This light was all Vivificus needed to see a small figure huddled behind a nearby tree, watching him.

The eladrin stood, pretending to stretch and walking away from the figure. He acted as though he was checking on his sleeping companions. He passed Treks and the women, circling back to the other side of the fire. From his new angle, he could see the mysterious man better. Crouched in the bush, still convinced that he was invisible to the swordmage, lay a gnome, spellbook in hand as if he was preparing to cast another spell.

Well, we cannot have that, Vivificus thought and started to draw his sword, lunging towards the gnome. The mage yelped and slammed his book shut, turning and rushing back into the woods. Vivificus closed his eyes, calling upon his innate abilities to enter the Feywild, hoping to use the momentum to get ahead of the gnome. For some reason, however, he could not enter the Feywild.

Part of Vivificus desperately wanted to know why this was, his ability never failed him on the natural plane before, but he shoved that mystery to the back of his mind. For now, he had to think on his feet for a backup plan.

He chanted a few arcane wards and a lash of arcane energy sprawled from his swordblade. The whip flicked forward, wrapping itself around the gnome's leg, causing the gnome to yelp out in shock as he fell to the ground. Vivificus was over the intruder in an instant, his sword drawn and at the gnome's throat.

"Why are you here?" He asked calmly, pressing the sword tight against the gnome's neck. He felt his sword nick the gnome's flesh, drawing blood. Good, I need him to be afraid.

"Why are you here?" The gnome repeated, terror in his eyes. "This is Yhvon's home!"

Standing over the unmoving gnome, Vivificus got his first good look at the creature. Yhvon had black war paint smeared on his cheeks, hair frizzled out to the side with bits of bark and branches stuck in it. This gnome was no foe, Vivificus realized. Yhvon lived out here in the wilderness, some sort of Wildman or nature worshiper.

"Please sir, I'll give you anything, just leave me in peace," the gnome said, tears starting to form in his bright eyes.

"Don't worry." The swordmage said coldly. "I'll take whatever I want when you're dead." Vivificus raised his sword, prompting Yhvon to close his eyes and bite his bottom lip. He wondered what he did to deserve this; he was only casting his cantrips at them as a prank. He had only changed the direction of the wind and hid the companions from each other's view with a little illusion. He did not want to die. He prayed to Barrar Wildar, gnomish god of nature.

Vivificus' killing blow was stopped short by a scream. He looked up to see Godric staring at him, her large brown eyes filled with shock.

"What are you doing!" Godric yelled, running towards them.

The swordmage hesitated, watching the anger in Godric's eyes. When she reached him, she struck recklessly, pushing Vivificus away. A flash of rage flashed through Vivificus, but his anger dissipated as he watched Godric turn to the gnome. The anger in her eyes turned to compassion as she helped this creature up on his feet. How could she feel this pity for a creature she did not even know?

"Are you okay?" Godric asked the gnome, picking some twigs out of his hair.

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" Yhvon said, grabbing Godric's hand and kissing it.

"Just go." Godric said, not taking her threatening glare away from Vivificus.

As the gnome ran off, still babbling his thanks, Godric turned her back to the eladrin, staring off into the distance in silence.

A tense moment passed as Vivificus pulled himself up. "Godric…" he started, placing his hand on her shoulder, only causing the druid to shrug it off.

"Don't. Just," a slight pause "don't." She said, walking back to the camp. As tears started to form in her eyes, she felt relief, despite her anger, that the commotion did not wake Lafayette. For Vivificus' sake.

***

The next morning, as Treks awoke and Orion returned to camp from his morning prayers, the two of them did not understand what they were seeing. The brook was dried up and where the forest of trees once stood was an scrubland and brambles. Lafayette understood when she came out of her reverie, although she did not understand the cause of it. Vivificus and Godric knew better.

The gnome's magic had caused them to enter the Feywild, and with his departure this grove returned to its natural state.

Lafayette noted the tension between her daughter and Vivificus as the group packed up camp, but she decided to leave well enough alone. In her mind, it still stemmed from Vivificus' mock betray and if it was anything that Godric wanted to talk about, she would.

As the companions headed down the path, leaving the grove that Yhvon once called home, Godric stuck her hand into her pocket absently. She felt something that did not belong, and pulled a gold necklace out. She felt dazzled by its beauty. She turned to regard Vivificus, who was acting as though he was not watching her. Godric frowned and dropped the necklace in the dried creekbed. She would not have her values compromised by a silly trinket, no matter how beautiful. Besides, if the swordmage wanted to apologize, he would have to be a man about it.

Her sullen attitude was noticed by Treks, who made his way up to her. "No sad, Gogo!" Treks said as he snuck up behind her and gave her a big hug. "Owe said all go on many quests. Together!" The Dragonborn twirled with the laughing druid in his arms while Orion and Lafayette watched on, chuckling at the overeager friends. Godric broke into a giant smile, grateful for Treks' love.

Vivificus smirked, thinking how they were all fools, but at least they were useful.

This group of adventures had seen many perils already and would face many more to come.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

As the companions walked up to the Griffonwatch, the great granite keep of the Hulmaster family, Treks was amazed by the grandeur of the place. It was efficiently built to guard the whole populace through a siege yet it was carved exquisitely. The building was build against the cliffs at the rear of the town, yet it was a challenge to not notice the keep. The gray granite building, spanning across multiple floors and the high outer walls offered a sense of justice. The Dragonborn had never before seen such a sight. The tribe he had been raised in lived off the land. Everything he knew of hunting he learned from his tribe's chief. He was happy there; he considered every dragonborn as family. He never thought that he would leave, but after what he saw…

He shook his head, clearing these ugly thoughts. They were approaching the guards that were stationed outside the keep. Now was the time for Treks to be focused.

"Good day!" Orion called cheerily. "We come bearing news. We have put a stop to the plundering of local tombs. May we request an audience with Lady Kara Hulmaster?"

"No," was all the guard said. He offered no explanation, no follow up, but Orion stood patiently awaiting the guards next words. It was clear to the rest of the group that the guard was trying to get rid of them, but Orion just waited. After a long awkward silence, the guard started fidgeting nervously. Treks smiled, noting the similar way Vivificus fidgeted. He wondered if Vivificus would ever grow accustomed to the deva. Treks didn't mind Orion or his ways. Treks enjoyed the silence.

"Well, will she be available later?" Godric finally asked. The young druid wasn't bothered by the stoic deva, but she wasn't sure how comfortable her mother had gotten with Orion and didn't want Lafayette to snap. Godric doubted that Griffonwatch would survive Lafayette's temper, let alone Orion.

The guard was grateful for the interruption. "Not today, perhaps tomorrow. The captain of the Shieldsworn has her duties."

"Perhaps?" Orion asked. "We have a pressing matter that requi-"

"Pressing?" The guard interrupted rudely. "You did a job that the Harmach did not view _pressing_ enough to assign the Shieldsworn. You will be granted a council when there is nothing more _pressing_ happening to this town."

"But we found these scrolls," Lafayette started to say as Vivificus fell into a coughing fit, cutting the sorceress off midsentence. Lafayette spent enough time with the swordmage to know that he had no need for this; Vivificus simply did not see it wise to let out information of the scrolls yet. She fell silent, allowing the deva to speak once more.

"Then we shall return tomorrow to check in." He said simply. "If the chance arises, please inform Lady Kara that we have returned from our journey with news. We shall be staying at The World's End Tavern, owned by Bloody Jackie." With that, the warlord turned and headed back towards town, his companions close behind him.

***

"What did you do with my horses, you asses?" was the greeting the group received before they were finished passing through the door to Jackie's tavern. It was early afternoon, but already there was an assortment of townsfolk congregated, drinking away their sorrows. Such was life in ever rainy Hulberg.

Godric stared at the tavern keeper, her mouth wide open in shock. "How did you know we lost them?" she asked incredulously.

Jackie turned to face Godric. As she moved forward, limping around the bar, she descended upon the party the way vultures descend on carrion. "You'd be amazed at the things I know, Godric." The druid had no response, surprised that Jackie even knew her name. Lafayette stepped in-between her daughter and the intimidating red haired woman, who was unpredictable and perhaps dangerous as far as Lafayette could tell. She would protect her daughter from anyone, no matter how threatening they may seem. Lafayette's eyes caught Jackie and all those sitting around the bar looked over. The silent stare down between the two strong females made the light hearted room's spirit dampen, until Jackie scoffed at the sorceress, deeming her unworthy of precious time, and turned her attention back to Orion. "I asked where my horses are."

Orion looked at the barkeep, unflinching. "We were attacked by goblins and the horses ran off, fearing for their lives. You'll be relieved to hear that we all survived, unharmed." The deva replied.

Jackie starred down at the deva. She did not appreciate his attitude. Vivificus took this opportunity to intercede. The deva moved back, recognizing that dealing with people like _this_ was more the swordmage's forte.

"How much for the horses," Vivificus asked. "We returned with two of the five, as I'm sure you already know." He knew not how Jackie got her information, but he had deep respect for her talent.

Jackie rubbed her chin, seemingly deep in thought. "Well, there's actually a job you could do for me instead, as payment." Vivificus smirked, knowing that this favor was planned out in advance. Probably even before they returned to town, Jackie knew she would be asking this of them. The lost horses were just the excuse she needed. He nodded at Jackie to continue.

"There are rumors of a treasure hidden in the sewers that run underneath my tavern and the majority of this town. I've sent some after this treasure, but they've always returned empty handed, or not at all… well that's not important!" Orion sighed mentally as Jackie spoke. Of course, money, what else could it be for someone like this? "Useless, the lot of them," Jackie continued. "When you're ready, you can enter the sewers from the entryway in my storage room." Without so much as waiting for agreement, Jackie returned to her bar. She had customers to serve, after all and even with all the magic in this world, no one mixed a drink better than Bloody Jackie.

***

The group heard nothing from the Harmach for the next couple days, despite Orion returning daily. The deva doubted that his message was ever given to Kara, she did not seem the type to ignore the people of her town.

Regardless, the group spent the next few days preparing for their "favor" to Jackie. They replenished the necessities and shopped around at Mirya Erstenwold's shop. Mirya was a very busty woman who gave more attention to the male's than was truly necessary. She was especially friendly to Treks, and the flirty woman obviously had an impact on the blushing Dragonborn, who had bought a French horn from the woman before he knew what was happening.

At the same shop, Godric surprised Lafayette by purchasing her an elegant necklace, claiming it was a thank you for allowing them to continue adventuring. Lafayette was light headed with delight as she clasped it around her neck, not because of its beauty, but because she knew that this necklace would end up being one of her most prized possessions. She did manage to keep her serious demeanor around the others, however. Her vulnerable side was not one she liked showing.

Orion returned to Bloody Jackie's that night, noticing three horses that looked suspiciously like the ones they had lost tied up in the stables. He did not feel like being alone this eve. He knew that Godric and Lafayette were off doing mother-daughter activities and Vivificus was who knows where, Orion didn't truly care. He knocked on Treks' door, sticking his head into the room to find the barbarian sitting on his bed, polishing his sword with pride.

"Feel like a drink, Treks?" Orion asked in draconic, catching Treks' attention easily. Treks nodded happily, standing and heading downstairs with the deva with his sword still in hand. Treks thought that perhaps he had found his new family after all.

Throughout the course of the night, Treks downed multiple jugs of ale, while Orion sat at the table with his one glass of pinot grigio untouched. Treks wasn't sure if Orion drank, but he didn't care, he was happy for the company tonight. The two of them traded stories. Treks' favorite was when Orion told him of the time the deva spent with dragonborns, worshiping the platinum dragon Bahamut. The dragon pantheon always fascinated Treks, even though the barbarian had not decided upon a faith of his own.

At one point, as Treks attempted to stand to order another drink, he stumbled, catching himself on the table. A concerned Orion asked if he needed to step outside to get some air. Treks agreed, and gladly took Orion's help leading him outside.

As the duo passed into a familiar alleyway, they were not alone. Matthias, the roughneck that Vivificus had battled with a few days ago stood waiting, watching them with angry eyes. His hands absently played with the chain that was wrapped around his hands and he ran through the orders that were given to him one more time. He was told that the item he needed to steal would be on the deva's person. He rummaged through Orion's room hours before and having found nothing in the room, he agreed. From what he was observed about the group and their personality, he couldn't see Orion letting any others hold onto these precious items.

He wished that Vivificus' would have had what he was after, he would have loved to pay back the scarred eladrin for picking a fight with him in the alley a couple nights before, but he would have to take pleasure in dealing with the Dragonborn that had jumped him for now.

***

"Look!" Godric exclaimed, pointing down the road. "Treks and Orion are outside." The two were returning from their own bonding experience. Lafayette was surprised to see the two of them outside and wondered what was wrong with the Dragonborn, he did not look well. She had not seen much of Treks in these couple of days, instead spending the majority of her time with Godric and Vivificus. She had been wondering when their adventures would start once more, but she was happy delaying as much as possible. Godric was safe as long as they were in town together.

Godric started to yell out a greeting, but gasped when she saw two men jump out from the alleyway. The tall one pushed Orion down and the deva fell into a mudpile, while the shorter one jumped on Treks' back. The barbarian swung quickly, throwing the small man from his back. He landed, sliding across the pavement.

"Go, go!" The tall one yelled running by his friend who was scrambling to his feet. "We got what we need!" By the time Godric and Lafayette got up to the bar, the two of them were long gone.

"What happened?" Godric asked, helping Orion stand.

Orion patted his pockets, checking his belongings. "They took my coin purse." The deva said scowling. "Damn thugs." He rummaged through his bag, making sure nothing else was missing. His Morningstar and shield were attached to his person as they should be, rations, a healing kit, some bandages. Everything appeared as it should except for, he rummaged through his bag a second time to make sure, and let out a long sigh.

"The scrolls are gone." He said, rubbing his forehead

"What!" Godric yelled. "You said it was imperative that we show those to Lady Kara! What if Bane's followers get them now? Everything we did would be for naught!" Godric rambled, fear evident in her voice.

The four were interrupted from a cackling behind them. They turned to see Jackie standing in the doorway, a smile spread across her face.

"You aren't very careful. Don't you know what this town is like at night?" She taunted.

"Please, not now." Orion said, his patience thin.

"No, now is the only time." Jackie yelled, walking out. "You have been delaying long enough, you need to do what I asked of you!"

"Jackie, please," Orion started to ask, but the tavern keeper reached out, grasping Orion by his ear. The warlord's eyes widened as Jackie marched back into her shop, dragging the deva with her. She marched behind the bar, passed a mystified Vivificus who was ordering at drink, and opened the hatch that lead down to her cellar.

"You'll find it, somewhere down there." She said as she pushed Orion down the hole, Orion wondering if she meant the scrolls or her treasure. He fell a couple of feet, landing hard on his back, staring up at the angry barkeep. Godric hurried down the ladder, Treks close behind. Vivificus had a smile on his face as he climbed down, chuckling under his breath at Jackie's display with Orion.

"How are we supposed to find it?" Orion called up.

"You look." Jackie asked. She dropped what looked like a stick down after. "Take this torch with you."

Orion caught the everlasting torch in his hand. He knew enough about these to know that it required an activation word to light. He started to ask what the word was, but the hatch slammed close behind them. Orion knew better than to not attempt to go back up there.

"Well." Lafayette said calmly. "She is a bitch."

With that last word, the torch in Orion's hand lit. How fitting. He turned down the dark tunnel, wondering what they would find awaiting them.


End file.
